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Johannesburg – ANC deputy secretary- general Jessie Duarte and former president Thabo Mbeki have urged the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to find the “real truth” behind the late Jackie Selebi’s conviction for corruption in August 2010.

According to the Sunday Times, Duarte, who was one of thousands who attended Selebi’s funeral on Saturday said: “The notion that Jackie was corrupt can’t stand.”

In a statement read out at the funeral, former president Thabo Mbeki also called on the NPA to conduct an “honest and thorough investigation” into Selebi’s conviction.

He said that Selebi will not be remembered as the villain that he has been portrayed as. Mbeki said the question that lingers is who was right and who was wrong? “Perhaps the NPA will help us all to answer this question,” he said.

Selebi died late last month aged 64. He had reportedly suffered from diabetes and kidney problems, reported News24.

He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on August 3, 2010, for taking bribes from convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti.

The former head of Interpol started serving his sentence in 2011, after being found guilty of corruption in 2010. He was released from Pretoria central prison on medical parole less than a year later. – News24