Publication: Cape Times Issued: Date: 2007-03-02 Reporter: Tania Broughton

No Joy for Zuma as State Vacillates on Corruption Charge

 

Publication 

Cape Times
Date

2007-03-02

Reporter

 Tania Broughton

Web Link

 www.capetimes.co.za

 

Durban : The state has ducked a challenge by ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma to say whether it intends to prosecute him on corruption charges, saying it is "impossible to predict".

In the ongoing exchange of papers between the government, Zuma and his former co-accused, French company Thint, in the legal wrangle over documents being held in Mauritius, Zuma said he was "entitled to know" if and when he would be charged again.

But in his reply, Scorpions investigating officer Isak du Plooy says only: "I can confirm that no decision has been taken regarding the prosecution ... It is impossible to predict when a decision will be made *1."

The matter is expected to be argued in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on March 22.

At issue are several documents being held under court injunction in Mauritius, which the state believes are crucial to the prosecution of Zuma and Thint. They include the diary of Alain Thetard, Thint's former SA chief executive, which allegedly notes a meeting between him, Zuma and Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, in March 2000. The state contends that it was at this meeting that the bribe by Thint to Zuma was brokered.

This, and other documents were seized in raids on Thint's Mauritian offices in 2000. Copies were made which were later used at Shaik's trial. In the interim, Thint secured a court order in Mauritius, preventing their disclosure to any other party.

The state has made use of the International Co-operation in Criminal Matters Act to make the application for a judge to issue a letter of request to the Mauritian attorney-general for the originals of the documents, "for further investigation".

With acknowledgements to Tania Broughton and Cape Times.


*1       It is impossible to predict exactly when a decision will be made, but the real world does not rely on exactitudes, but probabilities.

The timing of the decision is logically bounded by a Supreme Court ruling regarding the searches and seizures and an updated KPMG investigation report on the one side and revised indictment on the other side.

As the matter in the Supreme Court to hear the searches and seizures is likely to be held in the third quarter of 2007, a ruling is likely in the 4th quarter of 2007. Consequently the KPMG report could be updated by early in the 1st quarter of 2008 and a revised indictment formulated and served by late in the 1st quarter of 2008. The trial could then be set down for the beginning of the 3rd quarter of 2008 at the earliest or the beginning of the 4th quarter of 2008 at the latest.

With the preponderance of evidence currently available after the SCA ruling against the one co-conspirator and its effective findings against the other two co-conspirators the trial should last, other than all the formalities, about 15 minutes.

Who would want to take the witness stand in one's own defence to withstand the cross-examination of Advocates William Downer SC and Anton Steynberg to try to explain why it was that Thomson-CSF needed to bribe the Deputy President in order to protect it from investigation.

Surely all will come out about the involvement in this sordid matter of, inter alia :
Actually, one can but hope that all these witnesses take the stand to give their evidence. It should make for hours and hours and hours of spell-binding stuff.

Of course, it should also give Prisoner Schabir Shaik a few hours of relief from the confines of the Infirmary of Westville Prison when he comes and gives evidence for the Defence - or this time will it be for The State on behalf of The People.