National director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka is to file a countering affidavit in response to a statement by Jacob Zuma which apparently questions the Scorpions' motives for investigating the deputy president.

Sipho Ngwema, spokesman for Ngcuka, confirmed that Ngcuka's affidavit to the court today would respond to Zuma's allegations. These are contained in an affidavit Zuma filed to support his urgent application last Saturday to obtain a copy of an encrypted fax which allegedly implicates him in arms deal corruption.

The case went to court on Wednesday, with the state opposing Zuma's application because it had "no basis". It was postponed to September 15 to allow Ngcuka to answer Zuma's allegations and for the deputy president to then respond.

Zuma is understood to want a copy of the original encrypted fax, in French, which allegedly places him at a meeting in March 2000 with his financial adviser Schabir Shaik and a member of Thomson-Thales, which benefited from the multi-billion rand arms deal. Zuma is alleged to have solicited a bribe from this company.

With acknowledgements to the Political Bureau and the Cape Times.