ADRIAAN BASSON | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Jackie Selebi's former secretary Eunice Grové contradicted him at least three times during evidence in the South Gauteng High Court on Monday.
Grové was the third witness called to testify in the former police National Commissioner's defence. She followed former police spin doctor Sally de Beer, who spent less than 20 minutes in the witness box on Monday morning.
De Beer gave evidence about receiving the so-called "O'Sullivan dossier" from an Independent Newspapers journalist and taking it to Selebi. The following day Selebi gave in interview to theSunday Independent in which he slammed the allegations against him as "garbage".
But it was Grové's evidence that was material to the state's case against Selebi.
She was called by defence advocate Fanus Coetzee to testify about Selebi's expenses when travelling abroad, and alleged suspicious telephone calls.
During evidence in chief, Grové however bolstered the state's case by telling the court she used to keep one or two days' worth of Selebi's subsistence allowance for overseas trips to make up for shortfalls.
Selebi said during cross-examination he often returned to South Africa with a surplus subsistence allowance and used this to justify the large amounts of foreign currency in his possession.
The exact opposite was true, according to Grové. Asked by Coetzee why she kept part of his subsistence allowance with her, Grové said: "I struggled to ask him for money. I preferred to give back this money than to ask him for money".
She explained this was because Selebi's claims would "normally" not add up and he would have had to refund the police.
The Mail & Guardian
