A South African court on Tuesday granted the state permission to obtain documents from Mauritius which prosecutors want for a possible new corruption case against ex-deputy president Jacob Zuma.
The decision by Judge Jan Hugo of the Durban High Court could be a blow to the resilient and controversial politician, who is expected to be a strong candidate in the race to lead the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Given the ANC’s political dominance, its leader is all but guaranteed to become South Africa’s president in 2009.
Zuma has remained popular after surviving several corruption allegations and scandals but the decision to allow the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to get the documents from Mauritius is likely to heat up political tensions in South Africa.
The race for political leadership dominates the country’s newspapers, which dissect every rumour, like one which recently alleged a sniper had been hired to kill Zuma. Radio talk shows buzzed over the report.
Once seen as the frontrunner to succeed President Thabo Mbeki in 2009, Zuma was fired as Mbeki’s deputy after he was implicated in the corruption trial of his former financial aide, Schabir Shaik involving an 1999 arms procurement scandal.
Hugo also ordered that the documents be kept under lock and key — either at the Registrar of the High Court or by the South African High Commission to Mauritius — until the outcome of an appeal expected to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on September 21.
In his ruling, Hugo said that in the interest of justice a ”speedy start” should be made to obtain the 14 documents sought by the NPA. He also rejected claims that Zuma would suffer irreparable damage to his reputation in Mauritius.
Speaking after the decision was handed down, NPA spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said: ”We are quite relieved, even with all the conditions.”
He repeated an earlier statement by the NPA that no decision had so far been made to charge Zuma. He said evidence including the Mauritius documents, was being ”marshalled” to allow the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, to decide whether to prosecute or not.
”We have never taken any decision to recharge the ANC deputy president.”
Lesufi said he was ”anticipating a legal challenge” in Mauritius to the NPA obtaining the documents.
Political plot
Zuma (65) was charged but the government’s case collapsed last September.
Prosecutors continued to investigate and in April, the court approved their bid to request documents that Mauritian authorities seized from a local branch of a French arms contractor.
Prosecutors had earlier obtained copies of the documents, but the NPA now wants originals including a diary in which Alain Thetard, a former head of the French firm, Thint, made a note of a meeting he allegedly had with Zuma and Shaik about a bribe for Zuma.
Lawyers representing Zuma and Thint had argued prosecutors acted improperly in obtaining copies of the documents and should therefore be prevented from trying to get the originals.
A former hero of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, Zuma says charges against him are part of a political plot in the ANC to prevent him from becoming president.
The ANC, which is already deeply divided on the issue, is due to meet in December for its five-yearly national conference that will choose its next leader. – Reuters, Sapa