The Shaiks

Schabir Shaik Whether or not Shaik will be called to testify in the Zuma trial is an intriguing question. If he does, it remains to be seen who will be calling him: the prosecution or the defence?

Zuma was the notable absentee from the Shaik trial, which caused him to complain he was being tried in absentia. He demanded the authorities prosecuted him so he could defend himself. Now Cosatu is calling for the charges to be dropped. Testifying in his own defence, Shaik claimed Zuma knew nothing about his dealings with Thomson.

Chippy Shaik The brother of Schabir, he headed the defence department's arms procurement committee and Judge Hilary Squires found he called Nkobi's offices when "problems" with bids arose.

The French links

Alain Thetard Thales/Thomson-CSF's "Mr Fixit", he has become the Tricolour Pimpernel as far as the prosecution is concerned. Although evidence has been led that he popped up in locations as far afield as Durban, Mauritius and Paris sewing together deals that brought together Shaik, Zuma and Thomson executives, the state has had a devil of a problem pinning him down to pump him for information. Despite the central role he played, no extradition order has been made to force him to come to South Africa to testify before court. He remains an apparent untouchable.

Pierre Moynot Thomson's SA representative now and in the early '90s, Moynot testified he had met Zuma on several occasions and that his company was frequently approached by intermediaries like Shaik, but said men like Shaik didn't always have the backing that they claimed. Squires said of his testimony: "Mr Moynot, with charming Gallic candour, said that it was standard practice in the armaments industry to cultivate the services of such people, although the rumours or information they provided always needed careful assessment for their reliability.

Moreover, he said, notwithstanding the existence of apparently impartial institutions like tender boards, the ultimate choice in competitions of this sort was always made at a political level." Moynot negotiated the initial talks that led to a joint-venture agreement between Thomson and Nkobi. This eventually matured into Nkobi taking a 10 percent slice of ADS, the company that won the contract to install the software that would control the big guns on South Africa's new warships. It was he who insisted on direct contact between Thomson and Zuma, Shaik's trial heard.

Jean-Paul Perrier One of Thomson-CSF's most senior directors, he met Zuma several times in the lead-up to the arms deal and he was the man who allegedly had the final say in approving suggested deals.

The overseas connection

David Wilson Renong Berhads representative for the Point Road bid, Wilson said that Shaik was his shadow at all stages of the bid, whispering that he needed Nkobi to win the bid. Although Renong was named the sole bidder in 1995, by mid-1996 delays to construction led him to Zuma's door. Zuma told him he should appoint Nkobi as his empowerment partner. Renong declined and again, no progress was made.

A meeting in 1997 saw Zuma again calling for Shaik to be made the empowerment partner. The Asian crisis of that year saw Renong cancelling its South African business. Shaik then emerged as the eventual winner of the bid. It remains to be seen if Wilson will give evidence.

Professor John Lennon An academic who wanted to establish a company to train black people in the hospitality industry, by accessing skill development funds. Shaik assisted in getting Zuma to sign letters approving the project. He then started pressuring Lennon into appointing Nkobi as his empowerment partner. Lennon objected, resulting in Shaik threatening to get Zuma to cancel his approval. Lennon eventually abandoned his project.

The politicians

Dr Zweli Mkhize The former African National Congress treasurer-general in KwaZulu-Natal could say how the party expected Zuma to pay his living expenses outside Ulundi and how funds flowing between the Mandela fund and Zuma's account were to be accounted for.

Reverend MA Stofile The former treasurer-general of the ANC told Shaik, in late 1994, that he was not to say he represented the party when chasing deals. At the time, Shaik was trying to get a Malaysian company to name him as an empowerment partner in its bid for work on Durban Harbour.

Schabir's former employees

Bianca Singh Shaik's secretary's evidence, of Shaik's view that doing business with politicians required a lot of vaseline, set the hearings alight. She also provided crucial evidence that was able to link Shaik with Zuma. She testified that Chippy Shaik was also always kept abreast of Nkobi's arms deal ambitions and recounted how Chippy called once to tell Schabir to call on Zuma to intervene after a problem had arisen. "But while the record plainly shows, in our view, Zuma's preparedness to intervene or protect the Nkobi business interests and Shaik's readiness to ask for it, the essential issue of course is the existence of a causal link between Shaik's admitted payments to Zuma and this sort of assistance by Zuma," Squires said.

Themba Sono Formerly an executive director of Nkobi Holdings, he resigned in disgust over Shaik's vision of black empowerment which the latter saw as amounting to "political connectivity": the ability to use political influence to win government contracts.

Celia Bester Shaik's former accountant, she was also able to shed intimate light on Shaik's views on the real nature of his relationship with the former deputy-president - he was there to make Shaik and himself rich by wielding his influence in Shaik's commercial favour. She also provided crucial evidence about money transfers and what their true nature was: gifts, not loans that were to be repaid.

She testified that Shaik's accounts were "a mess" with very little supporting documentation. She also was able to describe the measures Shaik took when he ran into a cash-flow crisis as Zuma's building costs in Nkandla escalated.

Zuma's other adviser

Vivian Reddy The Durban-based businessman who also advised Zuma on his financial affairs while also giving/lending him money. Reddy opened a bank account in favour of Development Africa, the ANC trust aimed at addressing the needs and winning the favours of KZN's traditional leaders. Squires found little evidence that Development Africa acted as a trust, but rather as a channel for funding Zuma.

"In fact, there is no sign at that time that Development Africa was anything other than the alter ego of Mr Reddy; and it is common cause, or amply proved, that it was Reddy who eventually arranged for the payment of the bulk of the cost of Zuma's Nkandla home for it was Reddy who arranged the bank that finally paid R900 000 to (the builder's) claim and it was he who stood surety for the mortgagor and he who, up to November 2004, when the evidence was given, had paid all the bond instalments as they fell due," Squires said.

With acknowledgement to The Star.