Pretoria - The lawyer who drafted Deputy President Jacob Zuma's answers to the Scorpions will lead evidence on the spy allegations against National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka.

The Hefer commission announced that high-profile Durban lawyer Kessie Naidu would lead evidence to assist retired Appeals Court Judge John Hefer to investigate allegations that Ngcuka was an apartheid-era spy.

Hefer's spokesman John Bacon said they had full confidence in Naidu and did not see any conflict of interest.

Naidu represented a number of anti-apartheid activists in the apartheid years, including Justice Minister Penuel Maduna. In 2000, he volunteered his services as "specialist prosecutor" to Ngcuka in the case of the Throb nightclub teargas attack in Chatsworth where 13 young people were killed.

When the Scorpions sent 35 questions to Zuma this year during their investigation of corruption against him, Naidu drafted answers for Zuma.

The commission is tasked with investigating whether Ngcuka was, prior to 1994, registered as a government agent and also whether he was an agent of the police or intelligence community of any pre-1994 government.

Its first public hearing will be on October 13 in Bloemfontein.

The spy allegations emerged in August after Ngcuka said he would not prosecute the deputy president even though there was "a prima facie case" against him.

With acknowledgements to Charles Phahlane and the Cape Times.