President Thabo Mbeki has dismissed suggestions that his deputy, Jacob Zuma, should resign in the light of the corruption allegation engulfing him.

Mbeki said yesterday: "We must let the legal processes go through," Mbeki said, noting that he had not been presented with any evidence of Zuma's guilt. It would be wrong for Zuma to be forced to resign on the basis of rumours," he said.

But the president , flanked by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, did not defend Zuma either, only saying that it was a "good thing" that there was an investigation taking place.

Some observers have questioned the timing of the revelations, noting that allegations of corruption against Zuma also emerged ahead of the African National Congress' (ANC's) previous conference in Mafikeng.

Zuma has been at the centre of controversy since it emerged that the elite crime unit, the Scorpions, were investigating allegations that he tried to solicit a bribe from one of the contractors in government's controversial R66bn arms deal.

The deal has been clouded by allegations of corruption, which have already claimed one high profile politician.

Former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni was forced to resign after being charged with corruption earlier this year.

His arrest followed months of controversy after allegations that he had received a discount on a new car from one of the companies involved in the arms deal.

There was also a storm of controversy when the president refused to allow the former Heath Investigative Unit to investigate allegations of wrongdoing related to the arms procurement programme.

Mbeki, who made fighting corruption a key policy objective in his speech to the ANC conference, said Zuma and Yengeni's cases were not similar. Yengeni had been charged of a crime by the office of the director of prosecutions and then decided to resign voluntarily, while allegations against Zuma were just that.

"We must let the legal process go through. If he (Zuma) was involved in anything, he will be charged, like the (former) chief whip." There was no reason for him to resign until that had happened, Mbeki said.

With acknowledgements to Lukanyo Mnyanda and Business Day.