Professor Pierre de Vos, South Africa’s leading authority — in my opinion — on constitutional law, has written a blog which is published in the Sowetan today and which calls into question the relationship between former police commissioner Jackie Selebi and former president Thabo Mbeki, arising out of last week’s South Gauteng High Court conviction by Judge Meyer Joffe.
Specifically the professor suggests : “The conviction must place a question mark over the actions of former president Thabo Mbeki, who appointed Selebi and took steps aimed at protecting him and claimed that there was no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Selebi even after he (Mbeki) was briefed by the national director of public prosecutions about the evidence against the former top cop.”
“Why was Mbeki so adamant that Selebi should not be arrested? Why did Mbeki ask us to trust him on Selebi? And why did he maintain — in the face of overwhelming evidence provided to him — that there was no evidence to suggest that Selebi was a crook?” (De Vos)
The answer, I believe, relates to the circumstances in which Mbeki found himself at the time rather than any greater or lesser belief in the innocence of Selebi or any involvement in wrongdoing.
Accepting for the moment that Mbeki was referred to in the trial, as recipient of a gift from Selebi, this does not mean that he was in any way connected to the events that were unfolding between the top cop and Glenn Agliotti, got the gift or even knew of its source. To suggest otherwise is to say that any charity that benefited from the largesse of Bernie Madoff is involved in pyramid schemes.
Moreover, and with reference to the more pressing question of why he might have protected Selebi against prosecution, we need to look at the faction war between Mbeki and President Jacob Zuma at that time.
As most are aware, after Zuma was asked to step down as deputy president of South Africa by Mbeki, a rescue operation comprising the SACP, Cosatu, the left wing of the ANC and the ANCYL was mounted with the office of president as the target.
This culminated in the elective conference at Polokwane whereat Zuma took over from Mbeki as president of the ANC and was on his way towards the top office.
The above is a very simplistic account because below the surface a massive faction war was being waged between those who supported the president and those who backed the former president. Part of the collateral damage to this was the war between the police, then led by Selebi, and the Scorpions who included state prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
As part of that Polokwane elective conference the decision was taken to finally disband the Scorpions, which annoyed Professor De Vos, myself and every other South African who was tired of the crime statistics of this country. This decision, however, was not based upon an issue first raised at conference but rather was ongoing due to complaints of harassment by corrupt party members against the no-nonsense Scorpions.
Selebi and others held out that his prosecution by the Scorpions was an attempt by the Directorate of Special Operations to derail the efforts to close down South Africa’s top corruption fighting unit. In addition that he was a victim of the ongoing war between the factions — being firmly in the Mbeki camp — and a sacrificial pawn in the efforts to save the Scorpions.
After all if the police were corrupt how much more necessary would the Scorpions be?
Looking at it from Mbeki’s point of view the faction war was very real and extremely dirty. He would have had no doubt that Selebi’s claims of victimisation were real and that the possibility existed that the other side were intent on weakening his position by removing a loyal and powerful supporter through a prosecution.
As such his willingness to believe Selebi — who was vital to his cause at the time — and his reluctance to allow for his being sacrificed is understandable.
In this regard the trial confirmed that the state was prepared to go to any lengths in order to convict Selebi with druglords being given indemnity from prosecution in order to nail the top cop on corruption. No sacrifice was considered too great to achieve this goal.
In light of the same Mbeki too must have wondered why the state would give a walk to major criminals in order to prosecute Selebi.
He can only have concluded that the answer lay in the faction war that was ongoing until he was recalled.
Accordingly, though Mbeki might have been too accepting of Selebi, there were compelling reasons at that time why he would have been prepared to believe a friend rather than the powerful forces that were — in reality — lining up against him.
@Traps
You are probably right that the main reason why Mbeki stood by Selebi and ignored the evidence against Selebi presented to him – on numerous occasions – by Pikoli was to protect one of his staunch allies in his inner circle.
For the same reason (Selebi was a Mbeki man) the current administration has let him hang out to dry and face the consequences of his unlawful actions.
Zuma kills two birds with one stone – gets rid of and punishes an old enemy (Selebi)AND can say to the world “look how the Zuma administration keeps its word on stamping out corruption”.
Pity that this applies to evyone one but Zuma’s inner circle of untouchables.
The state has hardly “gone to any lengths” to secure Selebi’s prosecution – as you well know, Agliotti and Nassiff to name two have zero indemnity for many other crimes that are the subject of ongoing investigation – the death of Brett kebble being but one.
You also are better acquainted than I with the concept of plea bargains for the small fish in order to catch the big fry (“tag” game).
Given the fact that Brett Kebble sponsored the ANCYL (and ANC?) to the tune of multi millions of Rands of stolen JCI and Randgold shareholders money, what do you think the chances are of all the murky details and – dare I say it – the truth ever coming out?
About the same as the chances of the ANCYL paying back the stolen money, I would say.
Good analysis.
If I were to be a murderer and a friend in a position of power helped me so as to avoid tarnishing his own reputation by association, would this not be accessory to murder? Even when the power to investigate thoroughly resided in my hands at the time?
If I am so paranoid as to believe that anyone accusing a friend is an enemy, would I ever be fit to hold office in the first place?
See :
http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/
on the same subject
Whatever their contrived and devious reasons..who give a toss anymore. One thing is clear though: With the immeasureable time spent settling their personal vendettas, fighting off the ‘other faction’, filling chummie-chummie cadre positions ,watching their backs, concluding payoffs and establishing themselves around the increasingly crowded and congested ,”feeding trough”..there is very little time left to do what we put them there to do !! ie. Run and Govern the Country !! The ANC focus..is so way off the mark …it would be laughable, if it wasnt so tragic!! A political party …that is well past its sell by date…and dont doubt that for a second !
To the author:
Very insightful article, thanks, also I am sure we would all appreciate your thoughts on Judge Joffe’s reasoning in finding Selebi guilty and the cogency of the state’s case from a criminal law point of view…
My thoughts have always been and continue to be “what does Mbeki know about Selebi and what does Selebi know about Mbeki” that has to be kept under wraps at all costs.
Mbeki is the great denialist and perhaps he thought that his denials would suffice? His denials on HIV/Aids have cost the country more than 350,000 lives, Perhaps he hoped to keep the Selebi genie in the bottle.
Where there is smoke there is fire and I am sure that many top government and police officials would rather keep the cork in the bottle, but its too late as you cannot get the genie back into the bottle. We all know that corruption in government is rife as it is in the police force. Are there any good cops left after the government got rid of them all to protect themselves against prosecution? Was Mbeki part of this? Selebi knows!!
Wow! This is indeed great insights. Thank you, sir.
As I understand the judgment, Selebi was found guilty of corruption but not of defeating the ends of justice. Again as I understand it, this means he took money from Agliotti (the Kebbles) but did not provide any significant benefits to him (them) for the “donations”. That is a simple, humble layman’s interpretation of the judgment. From his actions at the time, Mbeki obviously had great faith in Selebi – the man was also head of Interpol back then – and as Michael says, it is clear he believed in Selebi and trusted him when he rejected the accusations outright – he fought for his day in Court emphatically – these are not the sentiments and actions of a guilty man. As it turned out, and if the above very simple assessment is correct, then Mbeki’s faith was not entirely misplaced although it is obvious now that Selebi fell victim to that which so many other government officials have fallen victim – crass greed! Greed, greed, greed! It is what is crucifying our democracy – greed across the board – private and public sector greed…. greed and corruption are inextricably linked and thus we have corruption on an unprecedented scale. To get more “stuff” Selebi was prepared to enter the world of and deal with some of the most dangerous criminals in RSA if not the planet! We have certainly done an outstanding job of erecting and worshipping at the altar of materialism which in many respects is valued more highly than children and families.
This analysis is innocent, if not superficial. Its location within the confines of a party is neat, but lends it to factionalism.
The crisis of democracy and the concept of the nation-state is the big fish in the small pond of this factionalism. The effective entrenchment in the office of those individuals and parties that the electorate entrust with their lives, is its immediate consequence.
Apartheid kept us in intellectual and political prison, but “democracy” will be stillborn as long as it begins and ends with voting, which is easily manipulated through vulgar politicking.
Nothing separates Mbeki from Zuma, nor one race,ethnic group, “nation”, etc.,from each other, except the interests, ideas, and values around which social actors mobilise themselves. Ordinary citizens of the world have to grit and bear with open conflictive processes imposed by these social actors over them to shape and determine their structures and fate.
At a more personal level,I would be interested in why Mbeki fired Zuma in the first place. Which inevitably leads to us to the arms deal, and the costs the ordinary person has to carry as a result of this mortgage of human life.
If you bother to dig deeper into a few more things that Mbeki did or did not do, South Africa would be better for it.
Two issues needing greater attention, investigation and exposure to the public of South Africa are issues around HIV policy and the sheltering of Robert Mugabe and zanupf by the Mbeki Government. Perhaps the M&G’s court case to reveal the judges’ report on the Zimbabwe elections will a good start. Then lets hope the SA Generals’s report on Zim’s last election is also revealed. A commission of enquiry into the HIV policy – non policy will also be most welcome.
We all knew that Jackie Selebi was corrupt, and it is now proven. We also all know in our hearts that Jacob Zuma is “allegedly corrupt”, but does not have the guts to “have his day in court”. We all admire Pikoli and the Scorpions,and we are all waiting for the M and G to find out whether or not and in what way Mbeki is “corrupt”.Let’s face it . It is an oxymoron to discover and “honest politician”….such a thing is a pointed absurdity.
The obvious other answer was that without Glenn Agliotti’s testimony — which was only obtained after Pikoli was sacked — there was no evidence against Selebi which even the most biassed judge could have accepted.
Under South African law, you can’t fire someone without a good reason, or they’ll sue you for unfair dismissal. (Selebi’s appointment was different from Zuma’s; Zuma could be sacked without trouble because his appointment was in Mbeki’s gift.)
Incidentally, it is possible that Selebi’s original charging was an attempt to put pressure on Mbeki. (It’s now clear that Mbeki didn’t want Zuma charged, probably because this would calamitously embarrass the ANC.) Knowing this, of course, Zuma supporters could threaten to charge Selebi and thus put “put up or shut up” pressure on Mbeki, because he could not easily reciprocate by having Zuma charged.
Politics is complicated — much too complicated for DA partisans like De Vos to understand.
It’s very nice to try and see both sides of the story, but not to the extent that you look so hard on one side that you lose sight of the other. The lengths that Mbeki went to to ‘believe his friend’ (read ‘hold on to power’) were hugely damaging to the national interest. More than enough reason for Mbeki to lose his job.
As I read your article, your ‘defense’ of Mbeki is flimsy. In addition, the emotive ‘no sacrifice too great’ paragraph is difficult to understand, unless in the context of purely trying to bolster your view. Giving felons and ‘druglords’ immunity from prosecution is a recognised prosecution strategy globally and is not at all peculiar to South Africa. Would you have preferred it if the state simply let Selebi off the hook as they did with Zuma?
Mbeki certainly selected Selebi because he saw him as easily malleable and could ‘make him’ a friend – it was surely not because he thought Selebi could do anything about crime.
In my opinion, Mbeki’s defense of Selebi at the time makes him complicit in Selebi’s immoral behaviour.
Michael, your argument on the reasons why Mbeki protected Seleby may be reasonable and I would like to know why did Mbeki stand by Manto on the Aids issue. Are there similar reasons?
My argument, once again, is that these people are in Government to govern the republic of South Africa yet, their energy is spent on fighting each other within the ANC, without consideration for the welbeing of the population, what with crime,health, education, graft, the Arms Deal etc,etc,. These people are allowed to take their eyes off the ball because there is no oposition to speak of. Their self interest are of primary importance.
I cannot wait for the day the SA electorate will see the light and replace this inept and useless lot with with people willing to make South Africa a proud Nation
Thats so yesterday! Done and dusted. Mbeki-Zuma rivalry is well documented already. Yours is one of those unverifiable suppositions. We will never know the reason why Thabo Mbeki refused to allow jacky Selebi to be prosecuted. Some might even choose to believe his (Mbeki) official explanation for it, and defend that position well.
Anybody can simply write up long “analysis” and engage in fanstatic uneducated or educated guesses! Its not a good analysis, its just a good read. Entertaining stuff Michael.
As I understand it, the former President never interfered with the investigation of the NPA into Selebi. He also never denied the NPA access to state documents which the NPA wanted access to. If he wanted to ‘protect’ Selebi he would have done everything to frustrate the NPA investigation: He did not. As I understand it, Mbeki’s attitude was that the NPA’s intention to arrest Selebi and search the Police Headquarters needed to be done in a non-hostile manner in order to take into account matters of national security. He requested Pikoli to give him two weeks to prepare for the arrest of the Commissioner, and when Pikoli refused and instead offered one week, he decided to suspend Pikoli and appoint the Ginwala Commission. Perhaps in the fullness of time we shall know about the security implications attached to a gung-ho approach to arresting a Police Commissioner. The inference that Mbeki had corrupt motives is unfair, to say the least, and I hope the former President will sue.
The reasons for his denial are probably the same as all his other denials eg the AIDS/HIV connection, the arms denial, the petro denials etc etc: a HUGE chip on the shoulder and the absolute dread of a dent to the ego driven primarily by his hell bent determination to prove that blacks are at least equal to, if not better than whites.
You do exaggerate somewhat when you say that Agliotti was given “a walk.” I am not sure about the exact details, but I do believe that he is still up for prosecution on some very serious charges, including murder.
Traps, you’re spot on. It is so easy to criticise Mbeki from a distance and without consideration of the circumstances at the specific time of events. Granted, he made a lot of mistakes but one needs to put oneself in his shoes at the time he made decisions. One can only imagine that it was not easy to make correct decisions at all times. As they say, hindsight is perfect sight. As for the fighting factions within the ANC, Mbeki is long gone and the intensity of the fights has escalated. In the past, Mbeki was accused of being divisive. He’s gone and the ANC is as divided as ever and the tripartite alliance is crumbling. So, let us be cautious in our criticism of Mbeki.
Because he’s his comrade.
…duh!
A Hint of What was to Come?
“As Uganda approached independence Idi Amin’s close colleague Apolo Milton Obote, the leader of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), was made chief minister, and then prime minister. Obote had Amin, one of only two high ranking Africans in the KAR, appointed as First Lieutenant of the Ugandan army. Sent north to quell cattle stealing, Amin perpetrated such atrocities that the British government demanded he be prosecuted. Instead Obote arranged for him to receive further military training in the UK.” Biography: Idi Amin Dada
http://africanhistory.about.com/od/biography/a/bio_amin.htm
If the (ANC) President of a country tells lies and then is found out to have been lying, how on earth can the public at large ever again believe whatever any current (ANC) President of the country is telling us.
Cynical – Why would Mbeki have to prove that Blacks are “at least equal to….”? THEY ARE EQUAL! Whites (and other paler races) are notorious for their superior attitudes and have long considered their intellectual ability and skills a cut above the rest. Mbeki didn’t pander to nor indulge these misconceptions and this irked many including a reporter / editor or two, some of whom are still licking their wounds! The good news is we are all absolutely equal in value with different but equally important skills and abilities to offer. However, fate is cruel with some handed “golden opportunities” including full material backing and fabulous support systems that enable them to find and reach their fullest potential. Others, through no fault of their own, are born into dismal circumstances of abject poverty, often left orphans without any adult guidance or material support. These conditions dictate and dominate their lives completely, usually depriving them of opportunities to identify and realize their intrinsic and vast potential. This imbalance has no place in the modern world – it is criminal and should not be tolerated. Regarding Mbeki – he worked long and hard and his intelligence, statesmanship and dignity were hugely influential in positively altering perceptions of South Africa and Africa – he won the respect of many inside and outside of RSA. Of course there were errors of judgment – let’s acknowledge his human frailty – equally, let’s avoid unjustly condemning this gifted, utterly committed man till we have walked a mile in his presidential shoes.
Oh Rose, frailty? There is no room for frailty in leadership of the most exciting Country in the world at the time. Whatever the reason, Thabo Mbeki, upon whom so many had placed their hopes for a stable, intellectual yet pragmatic, practical and humanist led South Africa, caused his own downfall at huge cost to the very people whose dream he promised to deliver. If we are supposed to be sympathetic to the enormity of his task, maybe he should’ve recognised that he was not equal to it not because of a lack of intellect and talent but, as so often happens, because of an arrogance and a huge ego. He simply knew everything, about everything! This writer cannot forgive himself for being a sentimental, politically naive fop, who romanticised all the happenings that were suddenly thrust upon him in 1990, idolised this gentleman who was supposedly steeped and pickled and sauteed in the extra virgin oils of intellect, integrity, sacrifice, guts and pragmatism. He would, by the placing of pals in positions, would compromise both the principles for which the organisation supposedly stood and most importantly, the very people they purportedly promised to save. Judge a leader by those by whom he was surrounded – by his cabinet ministers, heads of police and army, and of course his legacy , measured by results assessed five years later. HIV and AIDS, The Arms Debacle, Selebi, Eskom. Abysmal. Please put him out to pasture.
On 12 January 2008, then South African President Thabo Mbeki effectively suspended Selebi via an “extended leave of absence,” ….
It is important to remind ourselves of this lest we fall victim to Trapido’s far fetched agenda of linking Mbeki to Aggliotti and Selebi.
Trapido insinuates that Mbeki was part of the Selebi-Aggliotti crime syndicate. It reveals nothing new except Trapido’s own virulent and vengeful attitude towards Mbeki.
It’s like telling someone to secure a search warrant and follow legal procedure before committing an illegal act in the name of justice. Pikoli never followed protocol and was intent to embarrass his governement. That said the matter of Pikoli is a different kettle of fish altogether.
Believe me if Mbeki was involved by now Trapido and his friends would have made sure he is hauled before a judge. But here we are busy on a different matter: how to win minds and hearts for Africa’s hopeless white cause: Blacks can’t rule.
And Mbeki being that defiant species of black man who never asks the white guy what to think,say and do will forever attract this kind of biased attacks. He will never be forgiven for this, even Tony Leon said as much. But ironically it is the same privilege that Trapido and every white guy want for themselves in South Africa.
Mandla – Mbeki was an intelligent, competent, statesman of integrity and certainly my President of choice. However, your sweeping derogatory statements including all Whites in your negative sentiments are not only lacking in truth, but in poor taste and highly destructive of debate. It’s like saying all young Black men are a threat because some are found guilty of theft, murder and rape… we need to grow up and stop being prejudicial in our assessments of fellow South Africans of different races. Negative rhetoric of this type has no place in a country striving for greatness – indeed it has no place in a country where greatness has been achieved in many respects. The World Cup has occasioned an opportunity for all South Africans who love their country and are loyal to it to find and rejoice with one another again. Negative, inflammatory, destructive comment is as distasteful and destructive as negative, prejudicial media reporting. Just as a matter of interest and had you been a regular reader of Michael’s blog you would know that he is, in fact, a very big fan of Mbeki.
tsME – I am not convinced there was anyone who could have been the president you expected. Consider the task at hand: Take an exiled / underground, revolutionary movement – the ANC and its military wing (mostly consisting of people with little or no formal education) and turn it, literally overnight, into a government serving the largest, most complex and highly industrialized economy in Africa…. almost crippled – actually bankrupt – but nonetheless, the largest. Having never previously governed, it immediately embraced the task of caring for its 45,000,000 people, consisting of fragmented and often brutalized families and individuals, as opposed to the previous regime that had in reality served 4,000,000 privileged Whites. This monumental shift was accommodated with the same financial/material resources previously available. Millions of landless, homeless, mostly uneducated people looked to the ANC government for justice and restored dignity – had endured a situation where the elderly Whites were paid large pensions whilst their Black counterparts were given a pittance – a serious shortage of schools & facilities for Black children and very few educated Black teachers to fill posts in existing and new schools, minimal medical facilities for Blacks – very few rural clinics. They inherited universities that by and large accommodated White or paler people of color, taught by White Academics. It inherited an isolated, loathed country. Mbeki was at the logistical helm from the get go with Madiba working on the nation building/healing/Ubuntu front. What a splendid combination. RSA has metamorphosized – a real life miracle. Deo Gratias!