Zuma's Mauritian case postponed

The case involving African National Congress president Jacob Zuma in Mauritius has been postponed, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Friday.

The case has been postponed to May 7.

Ayesha Jeewa, Zuma’s lawyer, told SABC news that the case had been postponed because the defence team wanted to study the affidavit filed by Mauritian Attorney General Rama Valayden.

The Attorney General’s office said it had filed the affidavit to oppose Zuma’s bid to stop the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) from getting access to documents for its corruption case against him.

Zuma is attempting to prevent Mauritius from handing the documentation, which was seized in 2001, over to the NPA.

These documents allegedly include a diary with minutes of a meeting between Zuma, Schabir Shaik and Thint (a French arms manufacturer), where it was allegedly agreed that Zuma would pocket a bribe of R500 000 per year in exchange for his political influence and protection from an arms-deal inquiry.

Zuma’s corruption trial is scheduled to start in August in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.—Sapa