Johannesburg: ANC president Jacob Zuma will take his seat in the
Constitutional Court today in a last-ditch bid to
prevent key documents from being used against him.
His legal team will argue that his constitutional rights were violated when the
Scorpions raided his home as well as that of his attorney in 2005.
Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley yesterday confirmed that Zuma would be attending
the proceedings while the Metro Police announced that they would have several
extra officers deployed to keep traffic flowing, irrespective of the number of
Zuma supporters present.
Both Zuma and Hulley are claiming that their constitutional right to privacy,
dignity, property and a fair trial were violated by the raids.
In papers already before the court are part of the Constitutional Court action
that challenges a Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) ruling made on November 8.
The SCA then ruled that five warrants used to search the premises of Zuma and
Hulley, were legal.
But Zuma and Hulley argue that they should be granted leave to appeal against
the SCA ruling.
The controversial raids at properties belonging to Zuma in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal
and at Hulley's Durban office on August 18, 2005, were carried out two months
after Judge Hilary Squires convicted Zuma's financial adviser Schabir Shaik.
The Durban High Court declared the five search warrants invalid and the searches
unlawful. However the SCA overturned that ruling.
In a second court argument, Zuma claimed his constitutional rights had been
violated by Judge Philip Levensohn's decision last April to grant the National
Prosecuting Authority a letter of request asking authorities in Mauritius to
hand over documents pertaining to alleged meetings between Zuma, Shaik and
French arms manufacturer Thint.