South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma has told business people in Lusaka that his conscience ”is clear”, as he has not committed any crimes. He is also making plans to meet with his Zambian counterpart later in the year.
Zuma addressed a working breakfast in the Zambian capital, attended by South African business people who have invested in that country, as the storm of controversy over his links to convicted arms-deal fraudster Schabir Shaik — who is his financial adviser — raged in South Africa.
”Compatriots, you would have heard and seen in the media that Mr Schabir Shaik was convicted in Durban yesterday [Thursday], as well as the comments reportedly made by the judge in his verdict,” he said in a prepared speech.
”I have not had the opportunity to study the judgement, and the court process is not over yet, as Mr Shaik is yet to be sentenced.”
He continued: ”I am therefore unable to make any detailed comment at this stage, suffice to emphasise that my conscience is clear because I know that I have not committed any crime, nor was I charged with any criminal offence. I was therefore not in court to answer to any of the allegations made.”
Speaking a day after Judge Hillary Squires found Shaik guilty of two counts of corruption and one of fraud, Zuma devoted the bulk of his speech to the close relations between South Africa and Zambia — but also to the close friendship the ruling African National Congress had with former president Kenneth Kaunda.
”We shall always remember the sacrifices and selflessness of the people of this country, who suffered a lot for the liberation of many countries in Southern Africa.
”The former Zambian president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, a true humanist and lover of freedom and democracy, sacrificed his country’s stability and prosperity for the liberation of the peoples of neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.”
Referring to discussions held with Zambian Vice-President Lupando Mwape in Livingstone on Thursday, he said: ”From the South African side, we are looking into the matter of concluding and signing outstanding bilateral agreements, including the promotion and protection of investments, as well as the avoidance of double taxation between our two countries.
With a debate ranging on whether Zuma can remain deputy president — given Judge Squires’s view that Zuma had been aware of and used encoded language designed to clinch the bribery deal with French arms company Thomson-CSF — the deputy president indicated that he expects still to be in office for some time.
Zuma said on Friday: ”His Excellency Vice-President Mwape and I agreed to convene another session before the end of the year to take forward these discussions, and to monitor and assess progress made.”
‘Respect the principles of justice’
The ANC has called on South Africans to respect the principles of justice following Shaik’s conviction.
”The ANC calls on all South Africans, including political parties and other commentators, to demonstrate respect for the rule of law, the fundamental principles of justice, and the values which underpin our constitutional order,” ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said.
”As a young democracy, we need to resist all efforts, from whatever quarter, to circumvent the due process of law or undermine the spirit and letter of the Constitution.”
He said in a statement South Africans should not allow the pursuit of narrow partisan interests to undermine the rights of the individual as enshrined in the Constitution, including the right to a fair hearing.
Opposition parties and ordinary South Africans are calling for the resignation of Zuma.
‘Death knell’ to Nkobi
Meanwhile, Shaik’s conviction does not necessarily signal the closure of his Nkobi group of companies, even though all of its subsidiaries were co-accused in the case.
”According to the Company Act, a company is a separate legal entity from the natural person/s who make up the directorship of the company,” said legal expert Robin Sewlall, based at the Durban Institute of Technology.
He said Shaik’s convictions, which were all linked to irregular financial dealings with Zuma, mean that he can no longer serve as a director of a company, even if he is not given a prison sentence.
Sewlall said the Nkobi Group could be fined. If the payment of this fine is not within its means, this could lead to its closure.
Someone else could take over the running of the company, but Shaik’s convictions are a ”death knell” to Nkobi.
”I don’t think anyone would want to take over that kind of company,” said Sewlall.
He said Nkobi might decide to fulfil contracts already under way or already signed.
”The point of the matter is [whether] the company it has done work for [would] want to continue this tenuous relationship, which would largely depend on the terms of the outside company.”
After the start of Shaik’s trial in October last year, the national Department of Transport extended by another five years the contract of Nkobi and its partners to manufacture South Africa’s driver’s licences. — Sapa, I-Net Bridge