Jacob "Jackie" Sello Selebi was the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service from January 2000 to January 2008, when he was put on extended leave and charged with corruption.
28 Facts About Jackie Selebi
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Jackie Selebi was a former President of African National Congress Youth League, South African ambassador to the United Nations from 1995 to 1998, and President of Interpol from 2004 to 2008.
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An anti-apartheid activist in his youth, Jackie Selebi was a member of the African National Congress and a political ally of former President Thabo Mbeki.
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Jackie Selebi is among the most senior members of the ANC to be subject to criminal corruption charges.
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Jackie Selebi was born on 7 March 1950 in Soweto, a township in the south of Johannesburg.
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Jackie Selebi had a bachelor's degree from the University of the North, and in the 1980s taught history at several schools.
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Jackie Selebi was a member of the African National Congress and was detained by police at least twice for his anti-apartheid activities.
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Jackie Selebi spent time in exile in the Soviet Union and in Tanzania, where he taught at the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, and was a representative of the left-wing World Federation of Democratic Youth from 1983 to 1987.
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Jackie Selebi chaired the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1998, led the preparatory committees for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, and belonged to the board of trustees at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
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In 2002, while SAPS Commissioner, Jackie Selebi was named a vice president of Interpol.
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In January 2008, Jackie Selebi resigned from Interpol in order to deal with the corruption allegations against him.
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Jackie Selebi was convicted of corruption in July 2010 and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.
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Jackie Selebi was released to his home in Waterkloof, Gauteng, where he remained under supervision, and where he reportedly received dialysis several times daily.
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Jackie Selebi died in hospital in Pretoria on 23 January 2015, at the age of 64.
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In January 2007, Jackie Selebi was criticised for his response to a question from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts about police training ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
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In March 2007, Jackie Selebi suggested to a parliamentary committee that prostitution and public drinking should be legalised for the duration of the 2010 World Cup, in order to reduce the policing burden.
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Thabo Mbeki, who was president at the time, has since said that the Scorpions' investigation into Jackie Selebi grew out of investigations into the 2005 murder of mining magnate and ANC donor Brett Kebble.
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Jackie Selebi was known as a close ally of Mbeki, and Mbeki had defended him in the media.
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Jackie Selebi approached the Pretoria High Court, asking the court to block the state from laying charges against him for corruption.
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The prosecution alleged that Jackie Selebi had accepted bribes and gifts from Kebble, Agliotti, and businessman Muller Conrad Rautenbach.
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In exchange, Jackie Selebi had allegedly provided information about police investigations and preferential police treatment.
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Jackie Selebi claimed that he, Selebi, and their partners had gone shopping together in Sandton City, with Agliotti paying for the clothes they bought.
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Jackie Selebi claimed to have bought Selebi's wife a R10 000 red patent Louis Vuitton handbag for her birthday.
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On 2 July 2010, Jackie Selebi was found guilty of corruption.
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Judge Meyer Joffe of the Johannesburg High Court said that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Jackie Selebi had accepted money in exchange for favours.
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Jackie Selebi was found not guilty of the further charge of defeating the ends of justice.
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On 3 August 2010, Jackie Selebi was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment.
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Jackie Selebi resigned in 2009 and was charged with defeating the ends of justice, although the charge was later dropped.