On Thursday afternoon Judge Frans Kgomo ruled that Agliotti was not guilty of the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, who was shot in 2005 in Johannesburg in what has been described as an "assisted suicide".
"The accused here should not remain an accused in the dock longer than this moment," the judge said. "If he is called upon to testify that would be unconstitutional or unfair. The state has not made out a prima facie case against him."
The state could still prosecute Agliotti for corruption, however. He was not granted indemnity in the corruption trial of former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi in August this year.
Judge Kgomo gave indemnity to witnesses Mikey Schultz, Faizel "Kappie" Smith and Nigel McGurk, who were directly involved in the shooting of Keb- ble and former Allan Gray chief investment officer Stephen Mildenhall.
Former Kebble security boss Clinton Nassif, however, was not granted indemnity.
'Nassif was evasive, slippery and unconvincing. I distinctly formed an impression that he was not telling this court the whole truth," the judge said.
The judge also said that the state's case would have been much stronger if Australian John Stratton had been in the dock alongside Agliotti.
Kgomo likened the case to an episode of soap opera Muvhango and the Kebble family to the Corleone family in The Godfather movies.
"This case is about hidden and sinister agendas perpetrated by shady characters. It's about corrupt civil servants as well as politicians or politically connected officials wining and dining with devils incarnate under shade of darkness."
This article was produced by amaBhungane, investigators of the M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism, a nonprofit initiative to enhance capacity for investigative journalism in the public interest. www.amabhungane.co.za.
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