Interpol chief on corruption charge

South African prosecutors are to charge Jackie Selebi, the country's police chief and the head of Interpol, with corruption.

Tlali Tlali, of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said: "A decision has been made. He will be charged with corruption and defeating the ends of justice."

Mr Selebi, an ally of the South African President, Thabo Mbeki, and president of the international police organisation, has denied any wrongdoing. His legal team went to court yesterday in an attempt to prevent his prosecution, but the judge rejected the application.

Mr Selebi's indictment covers a range of charges that include receiving payments from his friend Glenn Agliotti, a convicted drug smuggler accused of playing a role in the murder of a South African mining magnate in 2005.

The charges are likely to raise the political temperature in South Africa, where Mr Mbeki and his rival, the new ANC leader Jacob Zuma, are locked in a power struggle. The NPA charged Mr Zuma with corruption, fraud, money-laundering and racketeering after he won the party leadership last month, fuelling allegations that it had been used as a political weapon.