Facing increasing public pressure over allegations that he tried to secure a R500 000 protection bribe from a French arms company involved in the arms deal, Deputy President Jacob Zuma on Monday rejected the allegations against him and professed his complete innocence.

"The allegations are unfounded and completely baseless," Zuma insisted in a rushed interview in his official Pretoria residence on Monday.

Zuma vigorously defended his friendship with Schabir Shaik, his friend and financial adviser, who has been targeted by the Scorpions and summoned to appear in court in Pretoria on Wednesday to answer questions on arms deal corruption allegations involving Zuma and others.

Responding to allegations that Shaik had accompanied him in his official delegation to a Nepad investment conference in Senegal in April this year, Zuma said: "He (Shaik) was invited to attend the conference but the flight connections were difficult and he heard that I was leaving and I got to hear and I took him along.

"There is nothing strange about that," said Zuma. "There is nothing wrong with that."

Zuma said Shaik had even tried to make a booking before he discovered that the connections were difficult. "I don't know why people think that is a big story," he said.

Zuma defended his relationship with Shaik and said it was unreasonable to expect him to drop a long-standing friend in the liberation struggle because he had become a businessman. "He was my cadre... he was my comrade and friend."

Zuma said Shaik had served under him in various structures of uMkhonto weSizwe, the African National Congress's military wing.

"It's like being brothers... you can't stop the relationship because one becomes a businessman," Zuma said.

In papers before the court, Zuma is alleged to have tried to secure a bribe of R500 000 a year from the French arms conglomerate Thomson-CSF, which has since been incorporated into another company, Thales.

The alleged bribe was intended to secure Zuma's protection of the company during the investigation into the arms deal as well as his support for future projects.

The latest revelations regarding the Scorpions' line of investigation has potentially dented the credibility of the arms deal investigation and raised questions about whether there was a cover-up.

Zuma did not deny having met Alain Thetard, the former southern African representative of Thales/Thomson-CSF who is linked with Shaik. "It could be because I can't remember who else is from that company. There was not just one, there were many," said Zuma.

He said that at the time he had nothing to do with the arms deal, but was the MEC for economics in KwaZulu-Natal. It had been his job to promote interest and investment in the province.

"That is why I met with these people. I met people from Russia, the United States, France, England and Malaysia," he said.

According to the affidavit signed by William John Downer, deputy director of public prosecutions, it was ventured that Thetard, Shaik and Mr "X" (Zuma) met in Durban on March 11, 2000.

Zuma also denied having any financial interest in African Defence Systems (ADS), a South African subsidiary of the French group. The Scorpions have been investigating possible links between Shaik, Zuma and ADS.

Zuma was non-committal about speculation in some quarters that there could be a political hand behind the timing of the allegations against him.

"But I think there might be some sinister motives besides the political ones," he said, without elaborating."

With acknowledgements to John Battersby and Cape Times.