Scorpions have evidence of corruption, but it's 'not strong enough'.

Zuma's financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, will be prosecuted. He will appear in the Durban Regional Court tomorrow.

Deputy President Jacob Zuma will not be prosecuted for allegedly soliciting a R500 000 bribe from a French arms dealer, Scorpions boss Bulelani Ngcuka announced yesterday.

Ngcuka's announcement followed a week of high drama in which Justice Minister Penuell Maduna is said to have threatened to resign after he was attacked by Zuma during a Cabinet meeting.

Ngcuka told a hastily convened media briefing in Pretoria: "The investigating team recommended that we institute a criminal prosecution against Deputy President Zuma.

"After careful consideration in which we looked at the evidence and the facts dispassionately, we have concluded that, while there is a prima facie case of corruption against the deputy president, our prospects of success are not strong enough.

"That means we are not sure we have a winnable case."

Ngcuka added: "The national interests of our young democracy and institutions of governance demand that we be satisfied that the facts are unassailable before we decide to institute criminal prosecutions. In a case of this nature we can't prosecute if it is not sufficiently winnable . . .

"This is not the time for point-scoring. I have to put the interests of the country above personal displeasure."

Zuma has been under investigation after a letter seized by the Scorpions suggested he might have solicited a R500 000-a-year bribe from an arms company.

Though Zuma is off the hook, his financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, will appear in the Durban Regional Court tomorrow.

Shaik's lawyer, Reeves Parsee, said he was contacted by the Scorpions and informed of the decision to prosecute his client. "We were asked to present ourselves at court."

Shaik is expected to be formally charged with various counts of corruption, fraud, theft of company assets and tax evasion.

Shaik's Nkobi group of companies and the French arms company Thomson-CSF will also be prosecuted.

Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, who sat at Ngcuka's side during yesterday's press conference, said that evidence suggesting Zuma was implicated in arms deal corruption was a "sad moment for us all".

Asked what the findings of a prima facie case of corruption against Zuma meant for the ANC, Maduna said: "I would rather that the ANC handles it.

"Having said that, it is a sad moment for all of us that the investigators have come to the conclusion that they came to, namely that the deputy president has a case to answer.

"It is a sad moment for me personally because I've had a very good relationship with the deputy president but I have no doubt that relationship will continue. "

Maduna is believed to have threatened to resign after coming under fire at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Zuma on Wednesday while President Thabo Mbeki was on leave.

The meeting saw an ugly exchange between Zuma and Maduna over the Scorpions' investigation.

It is understood that members of the Cabinet criticised Maduna for stating publicly earlier in the week that the government was placing a gag on further comment on the investigation. He was also condemned for allowing the investigation to run on, causing embarrassment to the government and ANC.

Maduna was so enraged that he is believed to have threatened to quit.

After the meeting, senior members of the ANC and the Cabinet worked behind the scenes to cool temperatures. Zuma was asked to speak to Maduna and convince him to remain in the Cabinet. It is not clear whether the two men have spoken since, but Maduna has not resigned.

Maduna met Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya at the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton on Friday, where they sat huddled in a corner in deep conversation. Insiders said Skweyiya had been given the job of talking Maduna out of resigning.

Ngcuka, who smiled and appeared relaxed at yesterday's media briefing, said his office had taken advice from senior counsel and the decision not to prosecute Zuma was based on the fact that it was not certain the Scorpions could secure a conviction.

Ngcuka's key findings were that:

There is prima facie evidence against Zuma but he will not be charged;

Durban businessman Schabir Shaik will be prosecuted;

Shaik's Nkobi group of companies will be prosecuted;

Zuma's gifts and benefits from Shaik and other parties will be referred to Parliament for a decision; and

Evidence against Thomson-CSF bosses implicated in the alleged Zuma bribe would be sent to the French authorities.

Bheki Khumalo, President Thabo Mbeki's spokesman, yesterday refused to comment on the matter.

ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama said the organisation accepted Ngcuka's decision and viewed it as " a victory for our democracy".

Ngonyama said prima facie evidence found by the Scorpions against Zuma would not taint his political career or public image.

The announcement yesterday brought an end to an investigation that spanned two years, took investigators on search-and-seizure raids to Durban, France and Mauritius, and opened 118 bank accounts, including Zuma's, to scrutiny.

Although Zuma is off the hook for now, Maduna agreed that the uncovering of any new evidence could lead to the investigation being reopened.

Evidence against arms company bosses Alain Thetard and Jean-Pierre Perrier, who are both French, will be handed to the French authorities.

The media briefing also shed light on how the arms-deal furore had unravelled. Ngcuka said that:

Shaik had "deliberately" exposed Zuma as the target of the arms deal probe;

Zuma had been told about the investigation against him "shortly after it started"; and

The Scorpions had never offered "mediation" to anybody under investigation.

At the time of going to press, Zuma was yet to comment.

With acknowledgements to Andre Jurgens, Mzilikazi wa Africa, Jessica Bezuidenhout, Ranjeni Munusamy and the Sunday Times.