Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thint will be back in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Friday.
They will appeal against a high court decision on documents in Mauritius, which South African prosecutors are seeking in an investigation.
The appeal is against a letter of request that will ask Mauritian authorities to release the originals of 14 documents that are in their possession after a search-and-seizure operation by the authorities in that country.
The information contained in the documents is relevant to charges that are being investigated against Zuma and Thint and that may be brought against them, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in papers filed in court.
The state seeks to secure these documents in advance of any possible trial as part of its continuing investigation.
The documents allegedly include the 2000 diary of Alain Thetard, the former chief executive of Thales International’s South African subsidiary, Thint, which reportedly details a meeting in March 2000 between him, Zuma and fraud convict Schabir Shaik, former financial adviser to Zuma.
The NPA alleges that an agreement on a R500 000-a-year bribe for Zuma was reached at this meeting, related to South Africa’s controversial multibillion-rand arms deal.
In September 2006, Judge Herbert Msimang, in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, struck the case, which was pending against Zuma and Thint, from the roll after the state had sought a postponement.
The postponement sought was pending the outcome of Shaik’s appeal at that stage against his fraud and corruption conviction and a challenge to the search-and-seizure raids by the state carried out on Zuma, his attorneys and Thint.
The Supreme Court of Appeal heard the appeals to the search and seizures three weeks ago.
Earlier this month, Zuma lost a round in his legal battle with the NPA when the Pretoria High Court held that he may not intervene in an application by the state into dealings in the United Kingdom.
The NPA obtained an order enabling it to extend its investigations of Zuma to the UK.
It is not known if Zuma will attend the Bloemfontein hearing on Friday. — Sapa