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"The decision of the Department of Justice to not pay the legal fees of Jackie Selebi's appeal costs is welcomed by the Freedom Front Plus. The Freedom Front Plus has continuously asked questions of the ministers in Parliament about the issue. A complaint about the use of state funds for Selebi's appeal cost and other legal fees have also been submitted to the Public Protector to determine whether taxpayers' money had been abused. The Public Protector had in a written reply on the 28th September 2010 confirmed that she was investigating the complaint. This complaint and investigation have definitely played a role in the decision not to pay for the appeal costs of Selebi and the report of the Public Protector is being awaited," Mr. Pieter Groenewald, chief spokesperson on Police for the Freedom Front Plus says.

"Section 3 of the State Prosecutors Act only makes provision for cases where action is in the public interest or where the state has an interest in it. In Selebi's case not one of these two aspects was at stake. Taxpayers have already paid R17,4 million to date for Selebi's legal fees. The charges against Selebi did not arise from his performance of his duties and that is why he should be paying for his legal fees himself, especially his appeal costs," Groenewald said.

The decision of the Department of Justice not to pay for the appeal costs of Jackie Selebi has been confirmed by Mr. Tlali Tlali, the spokesperson for the Department of Justice.