Embattled Deputy President Jacob Zuma and his financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, face the prospect of yet another probe following the publication of allegations that Shaik was involved in arranging payments to a girl who, in October 2000, accused Zuma’s son Edward of rape.
KwaZulu-Natal director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi confirmed to the Mail & Guardian that she is reviewing the investigation into the alleged rape in the light of the new claims, first published by investigative magazine noseweek.
She said she had received a report from the prosecutor involved and was waiting to receive the police docket.
Shaik’s regular payments of various expenses on behalf of Zuma, which the two men say were legitimate loans rather than gifts, are already the subject of draft corruption charges against Shaik.
In a radio interview last week Shaik denied he had brokered any deal with the girl, at the time a fellow student of Zuma’s son at the University of Zululand.
Shaik said the story had ”no basis” and was aimed at discrediting Zuma. However, Shaik’s brother Yunis was reported this week to have confirmed that a settlement had been reached ”between the parties”.
Zuma’s office has so far refused to comment on the matter. noseweek quoted the girl’s attorney, Linda Mazibuko, as confirming settlement talks involving Shaik, but declining to divulge any details. The M&G left several messages on Mazibuko’s cellphone but he failed to return the calls.
At the time of the rape allegation Mazibuko wrote to the prosecuting authority informing them the girl wished to withdraw the charges.
Mziwoxolo Edward Zuma had been arrested on October 22 2000 for allegedly raping the girl, reportedly then 17. On October 27 Zuma’s office issued a statement to the effect that the two parties had discussed the matter and resolved it amicably. Zuma was in Cuba at the time.
According to his spokesperson, the complainant willingly withdrew the charges, saying that she had acted emotionally in a ”lovers’ tiff”.
However, noseweek claimed there appeared to be a financial inducement attached to this decision that emerged when the MD of one of Shaik’s companies queried payments made to the girl from the company accounts.
Sabeer Sheik-Ibrahim, the former MD of Kobitech Transport Systems (KTS), confirmed the story to the M&G this week.
Speaking from Austria, Sheik-Ibrahim said the payments to the girl had been a topic of discussion at Shaik’s Nkobi Group offices: ”A lot of the people in the office used to discuss this. She used to come about once a month to collect her money. I saw her myself there about two times.”
Sheik-Ibrahim said he’s heard the story about the rape allegation, but felt it was none of his business – until he found out that some of the payments were being made out of KTS.
”Her name was in the financials. It seems she had been receiving about R7 000 a month for about six months. I questioned the financial director Colin Isaacs about it. He immediately removed the payments and said KTS would be refunded. I don’t know if that happened because I never received audited financial statements.”
Sheik-Ibrahim confirmed he had left the company, which supplies tolling and telecommunications systems for toll roads, at the end of January this year after a dispute with Shaik.
He denied being dismissed by Shaik and said he had resigned after Shaik failed to deliver shares in the company that he had been promised.
- Meanwhile, the SABC reported on Thursday that the Hefer commission of inquiry into whether National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka acted as an apartheid agent would have its terms of reference extended to include Penuell Maduna, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. This would be at Maduna’s own request, the broadcaster said. Commission spokesperson John Bacon told the M&G he could not confirm this development. Bacon also said the start of the commission’s hearings had been postponed until October 15.
- Former Sunday Times journalist Ranjeni Munusamy is understood to be contesting a summons to appear before the commission, apparently in a bid to protect the identity of her sources. Munusamy leaked the spy allegations against Ngcuka to City Press when her own newspaper declined to publish it. Bacon said the commission was negotiating with her legal representatives. Another of those summoned to appear, former African National Congress intelligence operative Mo Shaik, indicated there were concerns about the constitutionality of some of the regulations governing the commission, such as those that compelled witnesses to answer questions that might incriminate them. Shaik, now a special adviser to Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, compiled the 1989 ANC report on alleged moles within the organisation.
