Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan has told a parliamentary committee that former National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi violated the Police Service Act by serving simultaneously as a senior ANC leader, setting a precedent for political interference in policing.
Testifying before the ad hoc committee investigating misconduct within law enforcement, O’Sullivan stated that Selebi’s dual role as ANC National Executive Committee member and police chief breached legal prohibitions on political activity by police officials.
O’Sullivan argued that the political rivalry between former President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy Jacob Zuma further eroded policing independence in the mid-2000s. He referenced the “spy tapes” — recordings suggesting that former Scorpions head Leonard McCarthy conspired to influence cases involving Selebi and Zuma ahead of the ANC’s 2007 leadership conference.
Those recordings were later cited in 2009 as grounds for dropping corruption charges against Zuma, a decision later overturned by the courts.
O’Sullivan, who helped investigate Selebi, maintained his work was motivated by principle, not politics. Selebi was convicted of corruption in 2010 for receiving payments from drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti and died in 2015.
The committee continues to examine allegations of systemic political interference, corruption, and misconduct within South African law enforcement agencies.
