The National Directorate of Public Prosecutions asked the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday to postpone the hearing of an urgent application by Deputy President Jacob Zuma to get access to a letter allegedly implicating him in trying to solicit a bribe.
MTK Moerane, SC, said the directorate needed until Friday to file an answering affidavit.
It also wanted the contents of affidavits not to be made public, he told the court.
The letter allegedly indicates that Zuma sought to elicit a R500 000 bribe from Thomson CSF, a company involved in the country’s multibillion-rand arms deal.
Judge President Bernard Ngoepe ordered counsel for the two parties to reach agreement on a postponement date.
They are expected to inform the judge of a date after a short break.
On Tuesday Scorpions spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said on 702 Eyewitness News, that there was “no basis” for such an application.
Zuma is currently in Havana for the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
Earlier on Tuesday United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa urged President Thabo Mbeki to clarify the “confusion” surrounding Deputy President Jacob Zuma’s alleged involvement in the arms deal.
In a member’s statement in the National Assembly, he said the question had to be asked: “For how long can we have a person occupying the office of the deputy president when structures from the same government have publicly stated that they have evidence that he is corrupt?”
“Ironically, we hear ruling party spokespersons proclaiming that Mr Zuma has been ‘exonerated’: It is quite simply the confusion of the century,” he said.
Holomisa also called on the government to immediately issue an ultimatum to the directors of French arms company Thales, who had been implicated in allegations of corruption involving Zuma, to immediately cooperate with the Scorpions or face the suspension of their company’s participation in the arms deal. — Sapa
Mbeki must speak on Zuma, says UDM