The state conceded on Monday that a search-and-seizure warrant served on Julie Mahomed, a former attorney for Jacob Zuma, was invalid.
State counsel Wim Trengrove submitted in the Supreme Court of Appeal that even if ”an unlawful search and seizure” took place, other relevant aspects must be taken into account to preserve the seized material, including the public’s interest in the state’s ability to fight crime effectively.
The state is appealing against a Johannesburg High Court judgement that declared the warrants unlawful.
Mahomed was Zuma’s attorney from time to time, as well as the author of a loan agreement that came under scrutiny during the trial of Zuma’s former financial adviser Schabir Shaik.
Trengrove asked the court for a preservation order of all seized material from Mahomed’s office and home.
In the legal battle between Zuma and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the state will on consecutive days argue in three search-and-seizure appeal hearings related to investigations against Zuma.
The NPA will try to secure access to about 90 000 documents seized during raids in August 2005 at properties of Zuma, his attorneys and French arms company Thint. The seizures were to secure evidence for possible criminal charges against Zuma and Thint, which were pending at the time.
About 250 members of the elite crime-fighting unit of the NPA — the Scorpions — took part in the raids on homes and offices, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The appeal hearings continue despite a Pietermaritzburg High Court judgement that had struck the state’s ”pending” case against Zuma off the roll.
Five search-and-seizure warrants served on Zuma and his current attorney, Michael Hulley, which were declared invalid and unlawful in the Durban High Court, will be argued on Tuesday. In this case, like in the Mahomed matter, the state was ordered to return all items seized and removed from the premises of Zuma and the two attorneys.
On Wednesday, Thint will appeal a Pretoria High Court judgement in favour of the state. The company’s Pretoria office and the home of chief executive Pierre Moynot were searched.
The same appeal judges, a full panel of five, will sit in all three hearings.
The case continues. — Sapa