Despite several attempts from state prosecutor Billy Downer SC to establish who will be taking the stand to defend Schabir Shaik at his fraud and corruption trial, the defence is mum on their witness list.

However, under cross-examination yesterday, Shaik revealed that a Frenchman will be entering the witness box.

This emerged when Downer said Shaik and French arms manufacturing company Thomson-CSF entered a service provider agreement to disguise the alleged R500 000 bribe to Deputy President Jacob Zuma in return for protection from the probe into the arms deal.

Downer told Shaik the document was a "sham" used to mislead Shaik's and Thomson-CSF's auditors.

Shaik denied that he planned to mislead his auditors, but told Downer to put the same question to a Frenchman who is expected to take the stand.

Despite several attempts to find out who this will be, Downer was unsuccessful. Shaik's attorney Reeves Parsee confirmed that a Frenchman is expected to take the stand by Friday.

Meanwhile, the trial saw many interjections by Judge Hillary Squires, who put his foot down when Downer focused on "irrelevant" issues.

At one stage Squires snapped: "Where is this cross-examination going? You have already taken a week. I want to hurry you up so we can save time".

Squires had several questions for Shaik, such as why he did not send President Thabo Mbeki instead of Zuma to vouch for his company's BEE credentials. Shaik replied that Mbeki was not keen to meet with the French *1.

However, Downer cut Shaik short, saying that Zuma met with the French on behalf of Shaik because he was "in your pocket".

"You were paying him for his influence," he said. *2

With acknowledgements to Nivashni Nair and The Natal Witness.

*1 Strange - Mbeki had already had two secret meetings with senior Thomson-CSF executives, one in December 1998 and one in February 1999, that is after the corvette prime contractor had been announced by the SA Government and while detailed negotiations concerning the combat suite were in progress.

He had obviously done his bit by then for BEE and had no intention of doing any further bits for a company that was only Nguni in name.

*2  Saying it like it is.