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SAfrica police head dismisses arrest warrant report

30 Sep 2007 08:56:04 GMT
Source: Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - South Africa's police chief disputed reports that a warrant for his arrest had been issued and said authorities would not charge him with any wrongdoing, South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Public broadcaster SABC reported on Thursday that prosecutors had secured an arrest warrant for National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, who also heads the international police organisation Interpol. A government spokesman had said on Tuesday that Selebi might be investigated over allegations of ties to organised crime.

Selebi, who has been harshly criticised for failing to reduce one of the world's highest crime rates, had not previously commented on the report.

"I will never be arrested," he was quoted as saying by the Sunday Times. "I am not bothered at all. For what must I be arrested? There is no such thing as a warrant. It does not exist. I will not comment on charges as there is no warrant."

Government officials, including the safety and security minister, have denied knowledge of a Selebi arrest warrant.

But the newspaper said its sources confirmed there was a warrant for Selebi tied to charges of racketeering, corruption, defeating the ends of justice and being an accessory after the fact to the 2005 murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble.

Some of the charges relate to Selebi's friendship with Glenn Agliotti, a local businessmen who is accused of participating in Kebble's murder, the newspaper added.

Selebi's defiant comments capped a week of drama that began with the Sept. 24 suspension of Vusi Pikoli, the nation's top prosecutor. A government spokesman said President Thabo Mbeki suspended Pikoli because of his poor relationship with the justice minister.

It has been widely reported in the local media that the move was connected to Pikoli's investigation of Selebi, who has been defended in the past by Mbeki.

Pikoli's National Prosecuting Authority also has refused to comment on the matter.

The confusion within the government comes less than three months before the ruling African National Congress holds a key leadership conference that could see Mbeki forced to give up the reins of the party.

The South African leader, who took over the ANC from Nelson Mandela in 1997, is constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third term as the country's president in 2009.

But nothing prevents him from running again for the ANC leadership, and Mbeki has suggested he will do so.

A likely challenger would be Jacob Zuma, who was the country's deputy president until he was fired by Mbeki two years ago amid a corruption scandal. Zuma, who remains the ANC deputy president, was later charged with bribery and fraud.

The case collapsed last year on procedural grounds, but prosecutors within the NPA have said they hoped to reinstate the charges against Zuma, who remains popular within the ANC rank-and-file and its left-leaning coalition allies.

The Sunday Times said Mbeki had placed "intense political pressure" on the NPA to charge Zuma before ANC delegates gathered in December to choose a new leader.

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Last updated:Sun Sep 30 08:56:31 2007