Deputy President Jacob Zuma acted as an intermediary to clarify Nkobi's economic empowerment credentials rather than as a role player in securing contracts and projects, the Durban High Court heard yesterday.

In another marathon day cross-examining KPMG forensic auditor Johan van der Walt, defence counsel Francois van Zyl said Zuma attended two meetings with accused Schabir Shaik and Thomson-CFS directors.

However, far from having the sinister undertones *1 Van der Walt suggested in his report, Van Zyl said Zuma was "dispelling rumours that Nkobi did not qualify as a suitable BEE partner".

His involvement was also as the African National Congress deputy president rather than a state official. *2

Rumours about Shaik's Nkobi Holdings lacking an appropriate empowerment profile arose, the court heard, from comments then deputy president Thabo Mbeki made in late 1997 to the effect that Nkobi's shareholding structure did not qualify.

The state alleges the tycoon was at the centre of a scheme that secured French arms company Thomson-CSF a lucrative slice of the R6bn contract to supply the navy with combat suites for its new corvettes. Shaik has denied charges of corruption and fraud.

Van der Walt testified that in March 1998 Zuma had expressed concern that Nkobi would be excluded from a stake in African Defence Systems (ADS), the entity through which Thomson-CSF was involved in the corvette programme.

This led to a meeting in London between Shaik, Zuma and the Thomson-CSF France senior directors in July and a second one on November 18, the day government unveiled the successful tenders.

Van der Walt argued the meetings were the culmination of a process that saw a change in the ADS and Thomson-CSF shareholding to include Nkobi.

Van Zyl countered that Zuma's only involvement had been in resolving the empowerment component. "There are implications (during the intervening months) that Zuma's involvement was not limited to these two meetings.

"Zuma was extremely concerned *," Van Zyl said.

With acknowledgement to Business Day.

*1 Lewis Carroll was also OD'ing on something (probably either morphine or some other opium derivate) when Alice took to her wonderland.

*2 Zuma was also Leader of Government Business in Parliament as well as Provincial Minister of Economic Affairs in kwaZulu-Natal. From June 1999 he was Deputy President and had been designated as such once Mandela had advised that he was not standing for a second term.

*3 Sure he was, when he saw his slice slipping away.