Selebi to pay back legal fees: Justice dept

Former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi has to pay the State back for all his legal fees, the department of justice said.

"We are going to start calculating the actual amount owing and communicate with Mr Selebi through his lawyers," department spokesman Tlali Tlali said on Friday.

When asked what would happen if Selebi could not pay back the money, Tlali said: "We will follow normal debt recovery processes."

Selebi asked the State to assist him in carrying the cost of his legal fees during his corruption trial.

In a pre-trial agreement with the State, he agreed to pay back all the costs if he lost his case.

Selebi was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for corruption after accepting payments from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, but appealed the conviction.

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Appeal found that the High Court in Johannesburg was correct in ruling that he received payments from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti.

Selebi had to be taken to hospital when he saw on television that his appeal against his corruption conviction had failed.

The former Interpol president was watching the SCA's judgment on television when he collapsed and could not walk.

Selebi has until Sunday evening to report to Johannesburg Prison, also known as "Sun City", to start his sentence.