It was a letter signed by Deputy President Jacob Zuma, saying there was no need for the Heath special investigating unit to probe the arms deal, that took centre stage in the trial of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik yesterday.

Shaik has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and fraud in the Durban High Court.

At the centre of the drama, as described to the court by IFP MP Gavin Woods, the former chairman of parliament's standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), is a letter signed by Zuma making it clear that the government felt there was no need for the Heath unit to investigate corruption allegations about the arms deal

But both the leader of the Independent Democrats, Patricia de Lille, and Woods told the court yesterday they had wanted Judge Willem Heath to investigate the arms deal, as his now-defunct unit had the power to cancel corrupt contracts.

De Lille was the first to ask for an investigation shortly after she received a series of documents about the arms deal from "concerned members" in September 1999.

A year later Woods would ask that the Heath unit be included in the probe by the Public Protector, National Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the Auditor-General. He eventually had to settle for a joint investigation by the other three.

De Lille said in her evidence yesterday that she was ostracised after she first asked for an investigation, but said she had done so for the people of South Africa.

She also said she wanted Judge Heath to investigate and had given the unit her information, but President Thabo Mbeki would not sign a proclamation.

Woods told the court that his committee again asked for the Heath unit to be involved a year later. He claimed that Zuma's insistence that the Heath unit be excluded, was suspicious.

Advocate Billy Downer SC, for the State, said it was their case that this was done because there was an agreement that Zuma would be paid a bribe, facilitated by Shaik, to protect French arms company Thomson from investigation.

But Shaik's counsel, Francois van Zyl SC, compelled Woods to concede that several government ministers, the Public Protector and the Director of Public Prosecutions, were also in favour of excluding the Heath unit from the investigation. He said Zuma was only expressing the government's view.

Woods said he found Zuma's letter puzzling and suspicious. He added that the other government officials had not sent documents explaining their opinions to the major contractors in the arms deal, specifically Thomson.

Woods said he was extremely concerned that Zuma had overstepped the boundaries between the executive and the legislative powers of government, by interfering with Scopa's activities.

Woods said that he initially thought Scopa's request for an investigation would be allowed to continue.

But when, like De Lille, Woods wrote a letter to the president, asking him to consider issuing a proclamation that would allow the Heath unit to join the investigation, things changed.

Around the same time the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for a judge to be the head of a unit such as the Heath unit. Woods, however, said Scopa had obtained legal opinion that this would not bar it from asking the Heath unit to investigate.

But in January 2001, Woods received a letter signed by Zuma. The letter was signed in his capacity as head of government business.

The letter stated that there was no need for the Heath unit to investigate.

"I was fairly alarmed. To get a letter this strongly worded and hostile was intimidating," Woods told the court.

Woods said it was highly possible that the Zuma letter could have been written on behalf of the government, but there was reason to question if this was indeed the case.

In cross-examination he, however, conceded that the director-general of a department would often write letters on "difficult issues".

He also conceded that the letter followed a number of public expressions of opposition to the involvement of the Heath unit by government officials, including a number of cabinet ministers.

Woods eventually resigned as chairman of Scopa.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and the Cape Argus.