Auditor stands by his Shaik finding

It did not matter to which of his various debtors he was going to pay it, the fact remained that part of an alleged French bribe had found its way to Deputy President Jacob Zuma through his financial adviser Schabir Shaik.

On this point forensic auditor Johan van der Walt could not be shaken yesterday.

There was an aura of anticipation in the air as Van der Walt took the stand in the Durban High Court. In general, tempers seemed a bit frayed from early in the morning.

Shaik swore at a policeman who barred him from parking in front of the court.

But once Judge Hilary Squires entered court it was at their professional, and sometimes icy best, that Shaik's counsel Francois van Zyl SC and Van der Walt squared up.

In their short preliminary skirmish there was no eye contact. Van Zyl fidgeted with his pens. Van der Walt looked at Squires.

Advocate Billy Downer SC, the leader of the state's team, sat back in his chair, seemingly content to trust this part of his case in the hands of his veteran witness.

Van Zyl centred his attack around an allegation that Van der Walt was influenced by the Prosecuting Authority in coming to the final conclusions in his report.

Van Zyl said that he was, so to speak, "painting by the numbers provided by the National Prosecuting Authority".

"I deny that," KPMG director Van der Walt said.

He told the court that he had led a team of between three and eight members, including three chartered accountants, in the investigation, and denied that they were influenced by the advanced stage of the Scorpions' own probe.

"If my team were influenced I still have a professional duty to come to my own conclusions. The manner in which I controlled this assignment would have stopped anybody from forming unjustified opinions."

During the rest of the day Van Zyl focused on Van der Walt's evidence about Zuma's Nkandla development.

Shaik has pleaded not guilty to two charges of corruption and a charge of fraud. One of the corruption charges relates to R1,2 million in payments made to Zuma as part of what the state has described as a "general corrupt relationship".

The other is an allegation that Shaik had solicited a bribe of R1 million from French arms company Thint for Zuma.

The charge sheet, which Van Zyl claimed was used by Van der Walt to tailor his evidence, stated that there was a close link between the first instalment of the French bribe of R250 000, the payment for the development and a charitable trust called Development Africa founded by Durban businessman Vivien Reddy.

In his report, Van der Walt said he followed a R250 000 first instalment of the alleged bribe, paid to a Nkobi company called Kobitech by Thint in terms of a "service agreement" to the account of Development Africa. He concluded that the money for the Nkandla development was then paid by Reddy, who was in charge of Development Africa.

Also in his report, Van der Walt explained how he followed R2 million paid by former president Nelson Mandela to Zuma up to where R900 000 of it was used to reduce Nkobi's overdraft.

Van Zyl, however, indicated that his client would testify, if need be, that he did not know that this money had been destined for traditional leaders, and that when he discovered that this was the case he made arrangements for it to be repaid.

Armed with invoices for money paid by Development Africa to construction companies that worked on the residences of the Zulu King and Queen, Van Zyl asked Van der Walt if he would stand by his conclusion that the money was for Nkandla.

Van der Walt said he would, but allowed for "an alternative conclusion" that the money could be destined for the traditional leaders.

It did not really matter, he said, because "either way it was for the benefit of Deputy President Jacob Zuma".

The trial continues.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and the Daily News.