Jacob Zuma made a surprise appearance at the Supreme Court of Appeal this morning, in an apparent show of support for the French arms company once accused of trying to bribe him.

Three minutes before five of the Bloemfontein court's judges were due to start hearing arms company Thint's challenge to the warrants used to raid its premises in August 2005, Zuma arrived in the half-empty court one.

Zuma then shook hands with Thint CEO Pierre Moynot - with whom he shared the dock during the state's abortive bid to prosecute the two for fraud and corruption - before making a thumbs up gesture to Moynot.

Beaming back at him, Moynot returned the sign. The two men's apparent optimism however, stood in sharp contrast to the Zuma camp's subdued spirits after the roasting they endured yesterday by the same five judges who are hearing Thint's appeal.

Zuma's former financial adviser Schabir Shaik was convicted of soliciting a R500 000 bribe for the then-deputy president from Thint in exchange for his protection against the arms deal enquiry.

Counsel for Thint, Peter Hodes SC this morning began his attack on the warrants used to search Thint's offices by accusing the state of failing to give Joburg Judge President Bernard Ngoepe all the information required for the granting of the warrants.

Should Scorpions investigator Johan du Plooy have told Judge Ngoepe that Thint had previously given the state its "full co-operation" during its 2001 investigation of Shaik, he may well have decided not to issue the warrants, Hodes said.

According to Hodes, Thint had handed over documents and allowed "electronic mirror image copies" of its computers to be made. Further, Hodes argued that Du Plooy should have known and communicated to Judge Ngoepe that there was likely to be "privileged material" on the Thint premises, so that the judge could included certain safeguards in the warrant.

The hearing continues.

With acknowledgements to Karyn Maughan and The Star.