BBC Cricket Man Says Joburg Traffic Cop Took His Money

The BBC cricket correspondent and Olympics equestrian commentator Jonathan Agnew was caught driving without a license outside Johannesburg, and said a corrupt policeman took everything except R20 that he emptied out of his pockets, according to news reports and Agnew’s tweets about the incident.

On Friday, when South Africa was playing England at Centurion, Agnew was apparently driving with three other commentators, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, Henry Blofeld and Simon Mann when they were pulled over. Agnew admitted he was driving without a license.

Vaughan posted a picture of the incident on Instagram, saying “Things not looking good for Aggers”.

In response to the picture, Agnew said afterwards, “Very nice of the kind officer to let me go. After I had emptied my pockets of cash and given it to him. #corruption”

Later he added: “Still. Could have been worse. Officer kindly let me keep 20 Rand (85p) to see me through till Wednesday evening.” Then, “And he’s a cricket lover. Asked who was winning as he trousered the cash.”

In response to a tweet from someone else to Agnew that said “if you bribed him it means you did something wrong and are just as at fault as he is,” Agnew replied, “He made us empty our pockets and took the cash. Please do not suggest I bribed him.”

Agnew reportedly said on a BBC interview afterwards: “He (the traffic officer) was an angry man – he didn’t like me at all. At one brief moment I thought Mr Agnew was going to be spending the night behind bars. We might have had to start the Free Jonathan Agnew campaign. It was a hairy moment.

“The best bit about it is that once he’d said, ‘Empty your pockets’, the officer then said, ‘How’s the cricket going then? Who’s winning? Did South Africa have the better day?’ I said: ‘We’re off. I’m not hanging around.’”

According to The Telegraph newspaper in the UK, David Lewis of Corruption Watch in South Africa said that police corruption in Joburg is “endemic and systemic”. He welcomed the publicity and said “it’s good that, unlike most people, they’ve gone public about it” although he added that “it would be even better if they lodged a complaint”. He also pointed out that police cannot give on the spot fines, and must issue a ticket.