A judge in South Africa ruled Monday that former head of Interpol and the country's ex-police chief Jackie Selebi can appeal against his conviction for taking bribes from a convicted drug trafficker.
"Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal is granted to the accused on the issue of whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused received payment," High Court Judge Meyer Joffe ruled Monday.
Selebi was awarded a 15-year prison sentence by a court in Johannesburg in July, after being found guilty of taking bribes from a convicted drugs dealer.
He was charged with two counts of corruption and one of defeating the ends of justice, and was also accused of having links to organized crimes and accepting bribes worth 1.2 million rand or $157,000.
The court found him guilty on the two counts of corruption in July, but acquitted him of the charges of perverting the course of justice.
The corruption trial against Selebi opened at Johannesburg's High Court on October 5, 2009, with the former police chief pleading not guilty to the charges pressed against him.
The following day, Glenn Agliotti, a convicted drugs smuggler and a prosecution witness, had testified that the policeman-turned-politician had taken bribes from him in exchange for information on police investigations.
Agliotti told the court at a hearing on October 6 that he had paid Selebi bribes amounting to at least 1.2 million rand or $157,000 on various instances for information on police investigations against him.
He also told the court that he had been a go-between for Selebi and the mining tycoon Brett Kebble, who was allegedly involved in a string of shady deals with the ruling African National Congress' youth league.
Agliotti, who has been charged in connection with Kebble's murder in 2005, said Kebble wanted Selebi to halt a police investigation into his company and drop charges against his father Roger. Apart from Agliotti, the key witnesses against Selebi included former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach and Clinton Nassif, the security chief of murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble.
The prosecution alleged that Selebi used his influence as police commissioner and head of Interpol to make R1.2-million from corrupt relationships with Rautenbach, Agliotti, Kebble and Nassif. He is also accused of helping Nassif and his security consultant Stephen Sanders in tendering for contract work in Sudan.
The case against Selebi was strengthened by the R40-million plea agreement with Rautenbach, who surrendered before authorities on September 18 after spending the last 10 years on the run over fraud and tax evasion charges.
Selebi's lawyers had argued that the charges against the former police chief were politically-motivated and are part of a conspiracy against him by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). They allege that the NPA had offered criminals immunity from prosecution if they testified against Selebi.
Selebi had resigned as the head of Interpol after he was first charged with corruption in February 2007, and was subsequently put on leave of absence. Selebi's contract was not renewed when it was due in July 2008, with South African President Jacob Zuma appointing an old ally from his home region of Kwa Zulu Natal as his successor.
Selebi was also a senior member of the ruling African National Congress and a close ally of former President Thabo Mbeki. His supporters allege that Zuma used the case against the former Interpol chief as a political weapon to get back at Mbeki, who was forced to resign from presidency over his alleged involvement in a corruption case against Zuma.
Zuma had faced corruption charges before the elections, but they were dropped later on a technicality. A conviction before the general elections would have barred him from contesting the elections. There were widespread criticism in South Africa about the way in which the corruption case against Zuma was handled, with NPA accused of being heavily politicized.
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