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ID President Patricia de Lille has welcomed the 15-year prison sentence handed down to former Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi for corruption.

The sentence was handed down minutes ago by Judge Meyer Joffe in the Johannesburg High Court.

‘I agree with Judge Joffe that Selebi is an embarrassment to the court, South Africa, the South African Police Service and the Government that appointed him,' Ms De Lille says.

‘When the Police Commissioner is, in the words of the Judge, "a stranger to truth", then you have a problem. Fortunately South Africa can now breathe a collective sigh of relief because there will be one less criminal on the streets.

‘However, it is problematic for the ID that while Selebi has been punished for his crimes, there remain many ANC leaders that have escaped theirs simply because they are in the right faction of the ruling party,' says De Lille.

‘By the same token, this judgement sends out a very strong message that where corruption cases make it into our courts, our courts will not hesitate to deliver justice.

‘Of course a fair trial includes the right to appeal if Selebi so wishes,' De Lille says.