There has been ”a lot of unfairness” emanating from the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial, Deputy President Jacob Zuma told South African Broadcasting Corporation television news in an interview on Thursday.
Zuma was commenting on the seven-month long trial involving his financial advisor and confidante, Durban businessman Schabir Shaik, who faces two charges of corruption and one of fraud.
Shaik is accused of having used his relationship with the deputy president to clinch an arms deal contract from a French arms manufacturer, Thompson CSF and soliciting a bribe R500 000 a year for Zuma.
”I will not comment on that issue at this point in time. I’m not necessarily keen to make comments on the issue partly because there was a lot of unfairness,” Zuma said on Thursday.
”I’m not in court [yet] people have this notion that there’s a case against me but I’m not charged. Investigators investigated me for three years and found out that there was no case against Zuma. But some people seem to think there’s a case that I have to answer [to] but I don’t have to answer anything.”
Interviewed in his house, Zuma said as ”an activist, freedom fighter and politician” such ”things” were to be expected as politics was ”not an easy matter”.
”Of course people say people are free to comment and that there’s freedom of expression, but then this freedom of expression knows no boundaries.”
The high-profile Shaik case ended on May 4 in the Durban High Court with no definite date set for judgement.
Judge Hillary Squires said judgement would not take place before May 30. – Sapa