"Do the honourable thing and stand down immediately." This was the strong call to Deputy President Jacob Zuma from the Democratic Alliance and other parties as political reaction flooded in to the verdict handed down in the Schabir Shaik trial Thursday.

As the DA gave notice of a motion of no confidence in Zuma in the National Assembly yesterday, opposition leader Tony Leon was in the process of writing to President Thabo Mbeki requesting him to remove Zuma from office should he fail to resign immediately.

The DA, joined by other parties and groups, has called on the National Prosecutions Authority to reconsider its decision not to charge Zuma with corruption and on Parliament to reopen the investigation into the arms deal, saying further aspects of the deal have now been proven to be demonstrably corrupt.

Describing the judgment as a "fatal" blow to Zuma, the DA said that Zuma - while not on trial himself - has been found guilty in absentia and should step down.

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said yesterday the verdict will "hang like a dark cloud" over Zuma, while United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa called on President Mbeki to address the nation on the matter.

"Sadly, it will damage South Africa's standing in the international community," Buthelezi said. He added: "One is mindful that the shadow of corruption looms over public life in South Africa and that this verdict will serve to reinforce that perception. This will not help the deputy president perform the functions of his office, such as being chairperson of the Moral Regeneration Commission."

The African Christian Democratic Party has also called for Zuma's head, saying he must resign. It has called on the NPA to immediately prosecute Zuma.

"The question must be asked: how can the deputy president, who is supposed to spearhead the Moral Regeneration Movement, be taken seriously when one considers the court's finding that a corrupt relationship existed between Shaik and himself?" said ACDP Justice spokesman Steve Swart.

Swart said the verdict vindicates ACDP Chief Whip Louis Green who was suspended from the Parliamentary Ethics Committee in October 2003 for publicly disclosing his displeasure at not being able to question the validity of the "loans" made by Shaik to Zuma.

The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) at Rhodes University has called on Mbeki to dismiss Zuma, saying he can no longer be considered a fit person to serve as deputy president. The PSAM has also called on the National Prosecuting Agency (NPA) to charge Zuma with corruption.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, the DA's Justice spokeswoman Sheila Camerer recalled that the DA had called on Zuma in 2003 either to resign or vacate his office until his name was cleared. "The fact he chose to not only remain in office but also to remain silent on the charges against him means that he has now done irreparable harm to the presidency.

"Mr Zuma has had numerous opportunities to state his case on the record. Not only was he formally invited by the Hefer Commission to give evidence - which would have indirectly allowed him the opportunity to state his case - but he could also have appeared as a witness in the Shaik trial to corroborate his position. His claims of being tried in the media thus ring hollow," Camerer said.

"In a charge of this nature it should not be forgotten that it takes 'two to tango'. It is clear that Zuma accepted payments from Schaik in return for allowing him to use his political office to help Shaik secure business contracts. Such a relationship clearly implicates both parties in the relationship - the giver and the receiver."

Camerer said the original charge sheet was written in such a way it was evident that the original intention of advocate Bulelani Ngcuka, the head of the National Director of Public Prosecutions at the time, was to charge both Schaik and Zuma. "Serious questions must now be asked as to whether there was in fact political pressure which forced Ngcuka to remove Zuma's name from the charge sheet as the DA warned in August 2003."

DA chief whip Douglas Gibson said that, apart from the legal decision, Zuma has been proven to have lied on a number of occasions, both to the nation and to Parliament. He had lied to the nation in August 2003 when he denied soliciting a bribe or using his public office to advance the private business interests of any person - and he had lied to Parliament when he failed to declare received benefits from Schabir Shaik as a benefit in the Registrar of Members' Interests.

"In the light of the lies told by the deputy president, as well as in the context of the commitment given by President Mbeki last week, 'to ensure that the functions of the executive structures of government are not undermined by corruption', we officially call on Deputy President Zuma to resign now or for President Mbeki to remove him from office.

"Unless such action is taken the government's commitment to corruption as well as the country's international reputation will be dealt a fatal blow," Gibson said.

With acknowledgements to Susan Segar and The Natal Witness.