The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has filed papers for an interim order to obtain Mauritian documents crucial to an investigation of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thint, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news reported on Friday.
Zuma and Thint were granted leave to appeal a ruling that granted the NPA a letter of request from the court to Mauritian authorities asking for the documents.
In filing for the order, the NPA accuses Zuma and Thint of not seeking a genuine resolution to the matter by appealing. The NPA said this was just a delaying tactic to avert further prosecution.
The state requested the court not to allow further delays and hence its application for an interim order. If granted the order, the NPA carries on with the process of obtaining the documents which include the diary of Alain Thetard, the former French arms boss.
It allegedly refers to a meeting Thetard had with Zuma and fraud convict Schabir Shaik in Mauritius in 2000, where a bribe of R500 000 for Zuma is said to have been discussed.
The state was confident that Zuma and Thint would try every trick in the book to stop it from getting the documents.
They said if leave to appeal was refused, it was possible that Zuma and Thint would take the matter to the president of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The order would again be suspended, which would further delay the case.
Before both defence teams were granted leave to appeal last week, the NPA indicated they had made good progress in obtaining the documents.
The state was already preparing its opposing arguments to Zuma and Thint’s appeal, despite both legal teams having failed to submit their legal notice to appeal, the SABC reported. – Sapa