The defence team in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial opposed the state’s application on Monday to allow a witness to testify via video link from Glasgow, Scotland.
Professor John Lennon will only be able to travel to South Africa in either February or March 2005, which the state says is an unnecessary delay in the case before the Durban High Court.
However, Lennon is available to give evidence via video link on November 23 and 24. Defence advocate Francois van Zyl on Monday questioned why Lennon was only approached on the first week of the Shaik trial which started on October 11, and then asked to testify on October 25.
He has also questioned the validity of evidence presented to a South African court from a foreign country via a video link. Van Zyl said the issue was whether Lennon’s testimony would be, in fact, evidence. It was possible that if perjury was committed, he could contest that he was not lawfully under oath.
Van Zyl said it was also important that the media be allowed to witness the proceedings after prosecutor Billy Downer said the court would have to reconvene at the University of KwaZulu-Natal because it had video conferencing facilities.
Downer said the university’s venue was limited but emphasised that the media would have access to video footage.
He said that because the witness and those in South Africa would be able to see each other and themselves on two video screens, Lennon could be placed under oath.
Lennon is expected to testify that Shaik threatened to use his political influence against him. Lennon had wanted to open a tourism school in KwaZulu-Natal when Zuma was the province’s minister for economic affairs and tourism.
Zuma had allegedly asked him to consider Shaik’s Nkobi holdings as black economic empowerment partner. According to the state, when Lennon indicated his intention to go ahead without Nkobi, Shaik allegedly threatened to use his political contacts to squash Lennon’s plans.
The school never opened.
The state alleges that Shaik solicited a R500 000 per annum bribe for Zuma in exchange for protection during an investigation into irregularities in South Africa’s multi-billion rand arms acquisition deal. – Sapa
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