Justice Minister Penuell Maduna joined the war of words between Deputy President Jacob Zuma and the Scorpions yesterday when he denied that the Scorpions had leaked the questions they had put to Zuma about alleged corruption.

Zuma is incensed about the leaking of the questions which demand a range of information about his private and business interests.

He accused the Scorpions of leaking the information and slated the organisation, saying he questioned the motives of the investigators.

The deputy president said it was "totally unacceptable and despicable" that questions sent to him b the Scorpions had appeared in a Sunday newspaper.

"This is a serious breach of confidentiality and contrary t he spirit and terms of the National Prosecuting Authority Act, relating to the confidentiality of information received and disseminated," Zuma said.

Maduna, who is the minister responsible for the Scorpions, said yesterday he was sure the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (under which the Scorpions fall) was not responsible for leaking the questions.

The Scorpions yesterday emphatically denied they had leaked the questions. Spokesman Sipho Ngwema said the questions were leaked to the Sunday newspaper "with the intention of discrediting the organisation (the Scorpions), to ridicule the questions and also to divert the issues from the actual investigation" of Zuma.

He said the Scorpions were "equally perturbed by those developments (the leaking of the questions)".

Scorpions boss Bulelani Ngcuka charged recently that he was the victim of a smear campaign by highly placed people being investigated in connection with arms deal corruption and other matters.

Asked if the question leaking affair could be linked to this, Ngwema said : "Everyone is doing whatever they can to discredit him (Ngcuka)."

The Scorpions are also standing firm on their earliest statements that Zuma has to answer the questions put to him by Thursday.

With acknowledgements to the Political Burea and the Cape Times.