South Africa's former police chief was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment after he was convicted of graft and became one of the most senior officials brought to justice for corruption.

Jackie Selebi, a long-standing star in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party and a former president of the international police body Interpol, had been found guilty last month of receiving bribes from a drug kingpin.
Judge Meyer Joffe said in handing down the sentence that corruption was a cancer undermining society and Selebi had embarrassed the court, the police force and South Africa.

"At no stage during the trial did the accused display any indication of remorse. The accused lied and fabricated evidence in an endeavour to escape the consequences of his conduct," Joffe said.

Selebi remains free on bail on condition that he submits an application for leave to appeal against the sentence within 14 days. Analysts said the conviction of Selebi was a positive development for the country, showing it was ready to tackle its growing corruption problem.

"There is a message going out that says senior politicians are not untouchable and if found guilty of breaking the law, will go to jail," said Gary van Staden, a political analyst at NKC Independent Economists.

Prosecutors were seeking more than the possible minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. Selebi's lawyers were seeking a suspended sentence and a fine.

Lawmakers were warned again on Thursday that the Protection of Information Bill would not survive Constitutional Court scrutiny because it rode roughshod over media freedom and the democratic values of transparency and accountability.

"The ones (clauses) I have highlighted are clearly unconstitutional and the Constitutional Court would strike them down," said Dario Milo, a partner at Webber Wentzel law firm, making a representation on behalf of Print Media SA.

He was addressing the ad hoc Parliamentary committee on the bill during a second day of marathon hearings.

Milo noted that the bill - meant to replace an apartheid-era law dating from 1982 - could see investigative journalists face up to 25 years in jail for publishing information of public interest.

It went even further by denying those accused of contravening it the right to raise the defence of having acted in the public interest.

Like others who have objected to the bill, Milo argued that it sought to create a climate of secrecy by defining national interest and national security so widely that information could arbitrarily be classified.

On Friday 2 July 2010, South Africans heard the shocking judgement that Jackie Selebi, the man who had headed South African Police Service (SAPS) for the eight-year period between 2000 and 2008was guilty of corruption. The immediate response from some political parties was that they interpreted the conviction as a positive indication that the rule of law is still strong in South Africa. The ANC stated that the judgement clearly indicated that the country was governed by laws that were applied without fear or favour to anyone, regardless of their standing. The DA’s shadow police minister Diane Kholer-Barnard was exuberant and said that the successful prosecution “speaks highly of a healthy criminal justice system that is impartial and that our democracy is certainly safe.”

Indeed, this conviction demonstrates that the judiciary is able to apply the law against a politically powerful individual if sufficient evidence is brought before it. However, therein lies the rub. Our judiciary can only act on cases that are brought before it.

The question that we should all be asking now is: “If Jackie Selebi was the National Commissioner of Police today,what are the chances that he would be effectively brought to justice?” If the answer is that he most certainly would be, then we can agree that the rule of law is in good shape. However, if there is doubt that he would be, then there is cause for concern.  It is instructive to explore the primary reason that the High Court was presented with sufficient evidence to reach the conclusion that Selebi was corrupt.

Jackie Selebi, the former head of the South African Police Service and Interpol president, was convicted on one count of corruption by Judge Meyer Joffe on Friday afternoon.

Asked for comment Selebi (60) said he had "nothing, absolutely nothing" to say as he left court with a small group of family and friends.

Selebi now faces the prospect of spending 15 years in prison as the crime of corruption carries a minimum sentence in South Africa.

Judge Joffe postponed sentencing procedures to July 14.

In his judgement, Joffe rejected Selebi's defence of a conspiracy against him by the Scorpions, and accepted the state's argument that Selebi was corrupted by convicted drug-trafficker Glenn Agliotti.

In return for R1,2-million and clothes for him and his family, Selebi showed Agliotti top-secret reports and attended meetings with underworld characters whenever Agliotti wanted him to.

Joffe slammed Selebi in his judgement, encouraging other police officers not to "emulate" his behaviour.

"It is never pleasant to make an adverse credibility finding against a witness. His word cannot be relied upon again. The stigma remains forever. It is even more unpleasant to make that finding against a person who is the head of the SAPS.