Publication: The Star Issued: Date: 2007-05-30 Reporter: Karyn Maughan Reporter: Monica Laganparsad

State Confirms It Intends Charging JZ Again

 

Publication 

The Star
Date

2007-05-30

Reporters

 Karyn Maughan,
Monica Laganparsad

Web Link

www.thestar.co.za

 

Zuma admits presidential ambitions in court papers

Prosecutors are preparing to put Jacob Zuma on trial for corruption, fraud and money-laundering.

After months of denying that the National Prosecuting Authority was planning to charge the former deputy president, state advocate Billy Downer yesterday conceded in the Durban High Court that the state was "marshalling evidence for trial".

But those attempts to gather evidence look set to be characterised by increasingly ugly wrangling between Zuma's lawyers and the state - with lawyers for Zuma and French arms Thint launching a full-scale battle to keep allegedly damning evidence against them in Mauritius and out of the state's hands.

And, if Zuma and Thint fail to stop the state from collecting the originals of 14 documents used to convict Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, of corruption and fraud, they have promised to challenge the request in the Mauritian courts.

Central to Zuma's objection to the request is his claim that the state unlawfully failed to disclose the "political" nature *1 of his alleged offence to Mauritian authorities.

Revealing his presidential ambitions for the first time in court documents, Zuma has claimed that the state's investigation was "engineered" to tarnish *1 him before the ANC's crucial presidential candidate elections at the end of the year.

In papers before the Pretoria High Court - in which Zuma is fighting another state request to UK authorities for information about his financial affairs - he repeated his claims that a "political motive" was behind the charges against him.

Downer has slammed these "conspiracy theories", stressing "there is not a shred of evidence" for the claims.

Fighting for the state's right to obtain the originals of the disputed Mauritian documents, Downer said Zuma and Thint's efforts to halt this process could "irreparably damage" the state's investigation.

"The nub of the issue is an irreparable delay that cannot be cured by every trick in the book," he said.

"With tears in our eyes *2, we say these documents are cogent and relevant to our investigation… and we should really be able to obtain them."

Downer called Zuma and Thint's opposition part of a "full-scale and cut-throat defence" in which the state expected to "prove every point… cross every 't' and dot every 'i'."

The state used copies of the disputed documents - which include what its describes as the "damning" diary of Thint representative Alain Thetard - to show that Shaik orchestrated a R500 000 bribe for Zuma from Thint, to protect them from a potentially damaging arms deal inquiry.

But Zuma's legal team say they will refuse to accept these copies as evidence, should he be put on trial.

The NPA has already won an order from Durban High Court Judge Philip Levinsohn allowing prosecutors to request the documents.

Zuma and Thint will appeal against that decision in the Supreme Court of Appeal in September, and are trying to stop the state from obtaining the documents before this.

Addressing Downer's claims that Zuma was trying to delay the state's bid to finalise its investigations, Zuma's counsel, Kemp J Kemp SC, claimed this opposition was "based on perfectly legitimate grounds".

"This is not a battle where you send a champion out and have a little fight and that's it… this is more like Stalingrad," he said, referring to the bloody World War 2 battle.

He denied advocates were trying to delay the matter: "If we are entitled to an objection, there's no point in throwing stones at us," he said.

Judge Jan Hugo yesterday reserved judgment, saying he needed time to make his decision.

With acknowledgements to Karyn Maughan, Monica Laganparsad and The Star.


*1       Poppycock.


*2      Come, come Adv Downer, this is the real thing and there're no time for weeping.