State: Dropping charges not in public interest
Public interest “demands” that former deputy president Jacob Zuma is not granted a permanent stay of prosecution, the state argued in heads of argument filed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday.
Rejecting Zuma’s application for a permanent stay of prosecution on charges of corruption, the state said: “We submit that there is a compelling public interest in ensuring that the guilt or innocence of the accused is judicially determined after a full and open hearing.”
Justifying its position, the state pointed out that Zuma had held the second-highest public office in the land and aspires to the highest office.
“The case is accordingly one of the highest public interest.”
Referring to both Zuma and his co-accused—the two Thint (formerly Thomson-CSF) companies—which are subsidiaries of the French arms manufacturer Thales, the state said: “Striking the matter from the roll will not ameliorate the social prejudice of which the accused complain.
“They will continue to live under the cloud of suspicion that is described in their affidavits.”
Described as “the battle plan”, heads of argument are prepared by legal teams to set out their arguments in a clear and convincing way. Heads of argument generally indicate the name and number of the case, a description of the parties, the background facts, the legal questions that arise, the applicable law and a conclusion.
Zuma’s defence team and that of his co-accused filed their heads of argument on Monday.
Zuma is expected to appear in court on next Tuesday when he and Thint seek a permanent stay of prosecution.
