Schabir Shaik told the Durban High Court this morning that his request for a donation for the Jacob Zuma Education Trust was a “sensitive” one.

The State alleges that a number of opaque references to money to come from French arms company Thomson and then to Zuma indicate there was something sinister going on.

But Shaik, who has pleaded not guilty to fraud and corruption charges, explained under cross-examination that the request was made during an “acrimonious *1 time”.

“I was fighting and in hostile mode with the French. It was difficult for me to take that hat off and put the Jacob Zuma Education Trust hat back on.”

He indicated that the French had their own sensitivities to do with their management structure.

When advocate Billy Downer SC, for the State, asked Shaik if he and Thomson’s Alain Thetard had spoken about press articles dealing with the arms deal during September 1999, Shaik said they might have.

“You did not say so before in your evidence-in-chief,” Downer replied.

Shaik shook his head. “That’s a good question,” he said, “I can’t recall. If it came up, it would have been an ‘off-the-agenda’ discussion.”

The State had earlier indicated to the court that it would be its case that the French were worried about media reports dealing with allegations about the arms deal *2.

The trial continues.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and The Star.

*1  Maybe because Thomson-CSF was prepared to make "donations" to the Mandela Trust Fund and Mbeki Trust Fund, but not to the Shaik/Zuma Fund.

*2   Indeed they were - so much so that they forbade their partners, the German Frigate Consortium (GFC), to react to press enquiries in this regard.