The homes and offices of former deputy president Jacob Zuma's two benefactors, Durban businessmen Schabir Shaik and Vivian Reddy, KwaZulu Natal Finance MEC Zweli Mkhize and some of their legal representatives have been raided as well.

Investigators swooped on the various properties around 6am yesterday. Teams spent several hours at the properties before leaving, some armed with documents.

A tired-looking Shaik told journalists outside his Durban home that he was "co-operating as much as is reasonable".

"I wanted you guys to come in... to see the harassment. This is not the democracy we fought for."

Referring to a similar raid at his Nkobi company offices, he said: "My business has again been disrupted."

It emerged during Shaik's trial that Reddy ran the Development Africa Trust at the time when an alleged R500 000 bribe for Jacob Zuma, disguised as a donation, was paid into a trust account.

Reddy has previously admitted lending money to Zuma.

While there were indications that both Reddy's home and offices were raided yesterday, he adamantly denied this.

"This is a rumour. We are staying at a hotel because my house is being renovated," Reddy said.

Mkhize was a trustee of Development Africa and testified that Shaik had never repaid all of a R1-million donation from Nelson Mandela, which had been used to offset an Nkobi company overdraft.

With acknowledgements to Tania Broughton and The Star.