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Crime pays in this ethical wasteland

30 January 2009 Gareth Stokes

At times our criminal justice system resembles a circus. The ongoing saga around convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti is a case in point. In December 2007 he entered into a plea bargain with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to avoid jail time

Less than a month later, on 4 January 2008, he signed another statement – ‘the second affidavit’ – in which he denied ever bribing Selebi. In a four page letter he claimed the Scorpions were out to tarnish his reputation and discredit Selebi. Not long thereafter he retracted the second affidavit, claiming he was drunk when coerced into signing it. On the 10 January he made yet another statement – ‘the third affidavit’ – in which he contended he’d signed ‘the second affidavit’ in the hope it would secure indemnity from his pending criminal matters.

This sequence of events says something about the value of an affidavit – it’s about as good as the word of the person making it! When someone places their signature on this document they confirm that the contents are true – Scouts honour! Before you accept the contents as gospel truth you’d better check if the author knows what the word ‘honour’ means!

A national police commissioner on long leave

We’d love to know how the NPA concluded that Agliotti was the right man to help them with serious investigations, including a drug trial, an investigation into the Brett Kebble murder and allegations of corruption against a national police commissioner. Surely any judge worth his salt will throw this triple-affidavit evidence out of court. But perhaps the Scorpions know something we don’t. They’re already trying to find out more about ‘the second affidavit’ because they believe it will be crucial in their prosecution of Selebi.

It’s not all plain sailing. The Directorate of Special Operations has had to serve subpoenas on top police officers to secure the documents they need for the case. It’s a struggle that supports the argument that the Scorpions remain independent of the police services. But it’s too late for that – the ruling party has already decided the outfit’s fate. Instead we’re getting a brief taste of the future – a time when all senior police officials will be able to ‘operate’ without fear. Would the police have summonsed themselves to expedite a case against Selebi? Would the charges have been laid in the first place? As things stand it looks like another powerful individual is going to slip the judicial net...

The final affront to justice

But there’s something that concerns us even more. Four years ago (in 2005) Schabir Shaik was convicted on two counts of corruption and one of fraud, and sentenced to 15-years in prison. He started serving his sentence in November 2006 after exhausting the judicial appeal process. Since his incarceration the media only mentions his name in relation to the ongoing Jacob Zuma case, or when speculating about the blood pressure problem that’s severe enough to land him in a private room at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli hospital rather than in a prison cell. But early this year his name surfaced as the beneficiary of another R7m in ill-gotten interest.

Imagine our surprise when we read that the NPA described the arrangement as “normal”. NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali is on record that “the settlement between the NPA and Shaik is a normal one in civil litigation where disputes are often settled between the parties rather than litigated.” Forget all the legal jargon and media coverage for a moment and consider the facts. In January 2006 the AFU seized R34 million from Shaik on the grounds that the money was proceeds of crime. Then, toward the end of last year – in a hush-hush meeting with the state – Shaik’s legal representatives convinced the state to refund half of the interest earned on this money.

In terms of this agreement the R14m in interest earned on the seized funds would be split 50/50 between Shaik and the criminal asset recovery account. The R7m returned to Shaik was first diverted to settle his outstanding legal bill of some R2m before the balance was handed to him... This convicted fraudster has earned more money in his 26-months in jail than we’ve earned in the last five years. Go ahead – haul out your pay slips and see if you do any better! The opposition Democratic Alliance is repeatedly castigated for whining about political shenanigans; but we can’t help agreeing with their response to this farce: “It seems patently obvious that if an initial sum is forfeited, then any subsequent earnings on that amount ought to be forfeited too.” What kind of a message does this send?

Will anyone be held accountable?

We live in a country where police are too slack to clamp down on cable theft when the solution is as simple as imposing penalties on the scrap dealers who purchase the copper – a country where a minister pays a sympathy visit to a grieving shack dweller after her child is electrocuted on the exposed wires of an illegal power connection – a country where the ex minister of health can ignore a litany of infant deaths and get promoted to the ministry of the Presidency – where the future president (already acquitted of a rape charge) is facing charges of fraud and corruption – and where the interim president is accused of removing fixtures from a rented property.

The so-called higher-ups in this country need to take a moment to reconsider their attitudes. They’d do well to turn their eyes east – to China – where people are sentenced to death for corruption. Consider the case of the baby factory executive who tried to boost his company’s profits by adding melamine to food products. His antics led indirectly to murder; but his motivation was money!

Editor’s thoughts:
If you want to reduce crime your criminal justice system has to function efficiently. Right now it appears that South Africa’s system favours those with money or political influence. Do you agree with the NPA decision to pay Shaik the interest on the previously sized ‘ill-gotten’ gains? Add your comment below, or send it to gareth@fanews.co.za

Comments

Added by MS, 30 Jan 2009
I could not agree with you more, Gareth. It is time for the people of this nation to stand up and say - no more! Let us not vote the people in again that have no morals and honour! It is for the good of everyone. If you happen to vote for the same party which is currently in control - DONT EVER COMPLAIN! It was your doing!
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