It's not in the judgment, says SCA

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) says its "misattribution" of the words "a generally corrupt relationship" did not occur in its judgment in the criminal appeal by Schabir Shaik.

"The quote is to be found only in the introduction to the court's subsidiary civil judgment on the forfeiture of Shaik's assets," the office of the court registrar said yesterday.

The SCA said it was releasing a statement on the matter "in response to media reports that the SCA erred in ascribing the words 'a generally corrupt relationship' to the trial court".

The issue of the contentious phrase, widely attributed in the media to Durban High Court Judge Hilary Squires in describing the relationship between Shaik and former deputy president Jacob Zuma, has divided Zuma supporters.

While Judge Squires's misconstrued judgment in Shaik's fraud and corruption trial last year had initially united supporters, the retired jurist's claim that he was misquoted is now dividing the Zuma camp.

Yesterday Cosatu apologised to Judge Squires "for comments it has made about him and his judgment which were based on false media reports which put these words into his mouth".

But the ANC Youth League is expected to stick to its guns and make a statement today that even though Judge Squires might not have used the words "a generally corrupt relationship" between Zuma and Shaik, he meant it in his judgment and sentencing.

Initially, the organisation and Cosatu were united in their strong reaction to what they de-scribed as Judge Squires's judgment of Zuma in absentia.

In June last year Judge Squires convicted Shaik, Zuma's former financial adviser, on charges of corruption and fraud.

Since then, the judge has been quoted as having said in his judgment that a "generally corrupt re-lationship" had existed between Zuma and Shaik.

Last week, the SCA dismissed Shaik's appeal against his convictions. A ruling was also made on an appeal related to the seizure of Shaik's assets.

"As in the case of all appeals, the SCA made its own independent findings," said the SCA.

It said the trial court had found in the context of the corruption charges that the evidence established "a 'mutually beneficial symbiosis' between Mr Shaik and Mr Zuma".

The statement quotes two paragraphs from the "judgment of the court - trial transcript page 6556", which the SCA said was "central to the conclusion of the trial court on count one".

"The quoted words, incorrectly and regrettably ascribed to the trial judge, are consistent with the passage quoted above and appropriately summarise what the SCA found," the statement said.

Yesterday some leaders in the ANCYL were questioning why Cosatu had apologised to the judge.

"We have read and analysed (Judge Squires's) judgment and he has made inferences to that effect. Why apologise?" said one leader who refused to be named.

Judge Squires wrote to the Weekender newspaper at the weekend, saying the phrase had been incorrectly and persistently attributed to him by the media.

Yesterday the SA Communist Party (SACP), which had previously also used the phrase to characterise what they termed Judge Squires's unfairness, questioned the integrity of the SCA judges who had also incorrectly attributed the phrase to Judge Squires.

"The usage of the phrase 'generally corrupt relationship' in relation to one of its rulings on the matter, and attributing this to the judgment of the trial court, amounts to a political rather than a judicial and legally based ruling by the SCA.

"The trial court judgment never made such a finding.

"This is indeed a very serious matter that does not only call into question the credibility of the SCA and the competence of the judges involved, but also has the potential of negatively impacting on the confidence of our people in our judiciary.

"Even more serious, this means that in its ruling the SCA has been more influenced by perceptions created and fostered by the media than by a thorough reading of the judgment of the trial court."

Cosatu called on the five appeal judges to resign and said Judge Squires's denial had strengthened their call for char-ges to be dropped against Zuma, and that President Thabo Mbeki should reinstate him.

"This has seriously damaged his reputation and prejudiced his chances of a possible fair trial against the corruption charges levelled against him."

With acknowledgement to the Political Bureau, Sapa and Cape Argus.