The political conspiracy that African National Congress president Jacob Zuma claims is behind attempts to have him prosecuted for fraud and corruption could be revealed within the next year, the Star newspaper reported on Thursday.
The newspaper reported that Zuma made the claim in papers filed with the Mauritius Supreme Court. This comes as his legal team made an application to be involved in a case about documents that could be used as evidence against him by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The 13 documents held in Mauritius include the 2000 diary of former Thint chief executive Alain Thetard which details a meeting between him, Zuma and fraud convict Schabir Shaik.
At the meeting, a R500 000 a year bribe was allegedly discussed. Copies of these documents were accepted as evidence in the trial that ended with Shaik being convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for corruption and fraud by Judge Hilary Squires in 2005.
The paper reported that in an affidavit before the Mauritian Supreme Court, Zuma described the state’s claims that he had backed down from his political conspiracy claims as ”astonishing and wholly incorrect”.
”The allegations that the prosecution against me is part of a political conspiracy have been raised time and again — they have never been abandoned…
”The issue has never come to a head because the appropriate proceedings for determining this has not yet been heard. Would my prosecution continue, the political issue will come to a head within the year,” Zuma said in his affidavit.
While admitting that he had received money from Shaik, Zuma slammed as mischievous any suggestion that Shaik’s fraudulent activities could be connected to him.
”The relationship between Shaik and myself is an open one and — the facts of the payments were never concealed,” Zuma stated in the affidavit.
”These payments continued even after Shaik was charged. Nor is the description of Shaik as a fraudster in association with me anything but mischievous.
”Shaik’s fraud, which relates to the books of his companies which he ran as his personal fiefdoms, has nothing to do [with] and adds no colour to my relationship with Shaik.”
The Star reported that Zuma rubbished the description of his relationship with Shaik as generally corrupt as an invention of the media. He repeatedly pointed out that Mauritian law prevents prosecution for political motives.
It also reported: ”In his latest affidavit, Zuma has renewed his attack on the men he alleges are behind his sham prosecution — President Thabo Mbeki and suspended NPA boss Vusi Pikoli.”
The application being heard was not open to the public. – Sapa