Deputy President Jacob Zuma must have been aware of bribes sought by Schabir Shaik on his behalf, Durban High Court judge Hillary Squires said on Thursday in convicting Shaik of fraud and corruption.

He dismissed a scenario sketched by Shaik's defence team that the businessman might have deceived Zuma in a bid to pocket the money himself.

"If a prize were awarded for tenacious ingenuity, this argument would be a strong contender," the judge said.

He said Zuma was aware of and used encoded language designed to clinch the bribery deal with French arms company Thomson-CSF -- in turn for which Thomson was to receive protection from the probe into South Africa's multi-billion arms deal, in which it was awarded a tender.

"The only way Zuma would have known of such a code... was through Shaik," Squires said in a 165-page judgment.

At meetings attended by the three men, Shaik's role was to ensure that "Zuma understood (Thomson official Alain) Thetard and that Thetard understood Zuma," he said.

If it was true that Shaik was acting as a "dishonest broker" with the aim of pocketing the money himself, he would not have arranged the end agreement in the presence of both parties.

"It is the kind of risk no person bent on such subterfuge would run," the judge said.

Questioning arguments that Zuma publicly encouraged a Parliamentary standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) inquiry into the arms deal, Squires said a "far more reliable guide" to the deputy president's feelings could be found in a letter he signed and dated 19 January 2001, to the committee's then chairman Gavin Woods.

In it, Zuma informed Woods of a presidential decision not to issue the proclamation required for the investigation Woods had sought into the arms deal.

Woods had described the letter as "unique in its hostility, sarcasm and untrue statements", the judge said.

"It is almost as if the writer is taking special delight in rubbing the collective nose of Scopa, and Woods in particular, in the rejection of the recommendation.

"This is not the attitude of someone who is supportive of the investigation being pursued by Scopa."

Squires dismissed the defence's contention that there was no evidence showing that Zuma sought to protect or promote Thomson's business interests.

He also rejected Shaik's explanation that the money being asked for was in fact meant for Zuma's education trust, describing it as "nothing short of ridiculous".

Had it in fact been a donation rather than a bribe, there would have been no reason for the coded language used in correspondence, or to try so hard to persuade the company to comply, the judge said.

There would have been no better way for Thomson to mend fences with the South African government than by making a donation that would please Zuma, he said.

"It is not credible that the company would not have had the public relations expertise to exploit such an opportunity."

There was no evidence that the trust ever anticipated a donation, or that such a donation had been pursued by Zuma, as he had done in many occasions in the past.

"If he (Zuma) had genuinely believed Thomsons was thinking of a donation, it's incredible that he himself did not try to actively pursue the matter."

The evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the money sought from Thomson was intended for Zuma's benefit, Squires said.

Welcoming the verdict, the National Prosecuting Authority declined to say whether Zuma's prosecution was the next step.

"The national director (Vusi Pikoli) will need to consider the judgment," spokesman Makhosini Nkosi said. "If there is anything to be done about it (Zuma)... it will be done," he told reporters at the court.

Asked if a prosecution of the deputy president was possible, Nkosi said:

"I am not going to answer that".

Sentencing proceedings are to start on Friday, with argument in aggravation of sentence. Shaik was freed on R100 000 bail and has to surrender his passport to investigators.

Following the conviction, prosecutor Billy Downer SC, told the court the State intended invoking legal provisions allowing it to seize the proceeds of the crimes Shaik was convicted of. He gave no details.

With acknowledgements to Mariette le Roux,Wendy Jasson da Costa and Sapa.