Axed deputy president Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thint are expected to go to battle with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Friday over the release of documents from Mauritius.
The documents pertain to meetings between Zuma, his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik — now doing time for fraud — and Thint.
Zuma’s attorney, Michael Hulley, said he did not anticipate any delays in filing the papers in court opposing the NPA’s request for the release of the documents from Mauritius.
”We intend on complying with the court order,” he said.
The NPA approached the Durban High Court on December 12 for a letter of request to the Mauritian attorney general under the International Cooperation in Criminal Matters Act.
Judge Phillip Levinsohn gave Zuma and Thint until February 9 to file papers opposing the application, and the state until March 2 to respond.
He set down March 22 to March 25 for argument in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
The documents include the 2000 diary of former Thint chief executive Alain Thetard.
The NPA revealed, in papers supporting its application, that Thetard’s diary entry for March 11 2000 was a particularly important piece of evidence for the prosecution.
”It appears from this entry that Thetard met with ‘J Zuma + SS’ [Schabir Shaik] in Durban on that day”.
In July 2005, Judge Hilary Squires convicted Shaik of fraud and two counts of corruption — one involving the attempted soliciting of a R500 000 a year bribe from Thetard for Zuma.
The NPA applied for a similar letter of request in March 2006, but Judge Pete Combrinck ruled that it would have to be granted by the trial judge in the Zuma case.
In September last year, Judge Herbert Msimang struck the case against Zuma and Thint from the roll.
This came after the state sought a postponement pending the outcome of Shaik’s appeal and a challenge to the search and seizure raids at the homes and businesses of Zuma, his attorneys and Thint.
The Mauritian documents were also cited as a reason the postponement was sought.
Thint attorney Ajay Sooklall could not be reached for comment on Wednesday night. Thint is the South African subsidiary of Thales International.
Controversial sacking
South African President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma after he was implicated in Shaik’s trial. Zuma was not charged with Shaik, who is now serving a 15-year jail sentence.
Zuma was later charged, along with Thint, but a high court judge struck off the case in September when prosecutors said they were not ready to proceed to trial.
A former hero of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, Zuma says charges against him are part of a political plot in the African National Congress (ANC) to prevent him from becoming president.
Radical factions of the ANC have backed this view and thousands of Zuma’s grassroots followers showed up in force during his court appearances. They have threatened more serious action if fresh charges are brought against Zuma.
Many Zuma supporters hold Mbeki personally responsible for their hero’s political troubles and have openly abused Mbeki in public.
Analysts say political tensions could run even higher in the run-up to December 2007 when the ANC holds its next five-yearly national conference that will choose its next leader. Given the ANC’s political dominance, such a leader is guaranteed to become South Africa’s next president in 2009.
Zuma remains the ANC’s deputy president and therefore a strong contender if he scales any new legal hurdle. But the stakes are getting bigger with Mbeki’s own supporters mounting a new campaign to keep him on as party leader even after he would have stepped down as the country’s president in 2009. — Sapa, Reuters