Publication: Mail and Guardian
Issued:
Date: 2008-01-04
Reporter: Adriaan Basson
| Publication |
Mail and Guardian
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| Date |
2008-01-04
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|
Reporter
|
Adriaan Basson
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|
Web Link
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www.mg.co.za
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The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has thrown a powerful new book of
charges at African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma, which includes
the "super charge" of racketeering and a slate of new witnesses to testify
against the newly elected ANC leader.
There is now only one legal avenue left for Zuma to
escape a possible career-ending criminal trial --
to bring a successful application for the permanent stay
of charges against him on the basis that his rights to a fair trial have
been irreversibly infringed.
According to insiders this might happen very soon, even
within a few weeks. Zuma's attorney, Michael Hulley, this week said that
he still had to consult with his client.
Meanwhile, as the legal fracas looms, a Zuma supporter has warned that "blood
will be spilt" in the courtroom at Zuma's next court appearance.
By confirming a court date for August, the NPA has now put the ball into the
court of the accused to bring a permanent stay application. They will have to
serve notice on the NPA and confirm an earlier court date for the hearing.
In a statement released this week, the NPA indicated that it was ready to
proceed with the trial at the earliest possible date. "Any delays in the
commencement of the trial are accordingly entirely in the hands of the defendant
parties and their legal teams."
If Zuma succeeds with such an application it could be the end of the road for
the prosecution. If the application is denied, Zuma and arms companies Thint and
Thint Holdings will stand trial in the Pietermaritzburg High Court from August 4
to December 12.
Zuma and his supporters have reacted with anger since the NPA served an
indictment and a summons to appear in court a week ago.
The ANC's newly elected national executive committee is bracing itself for its
first meeting on January 7, where the new charges against Zuma will be
discussed. ANC Youth League president Fikile Mbalula has accused President Thabo
Mbeki of being behind the new charges, while the Congress of South African Trade
Unions KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, Zet Luzipho, has warned of violence.
"People are now angry. This time there will be blood spilt in the courtroom.
People are ready to put themselves in the frontline. We will not be held
responsible for their anger," Luzipho told the Sowetan newspaper.
Hulley, in a statement released on behalf of his client, questioned the NPA's
timing. "One cannot imagine the need for such haste and the service of the
indictment over this Christmas period, when much of the world -- commercial,
legal and otherwise -- is at rest. We find the timing of the service of the
indictment most peculiar."
According to Hulley, the fresh charges lend credence to the "long-held view that
the Scorpions are influenced and their prosecution informed by political
considerations ... These charges will be vigorously defended, in the context of
the belief that the Scorpions have acted wrongly and with improper motive
calculated to discredit Zuma and ensure that he played no leadership role in the
political future of our country."
The NPA hit back this week with a statement asking for "calm heads and cool
tempers", particularly from "persons who hold positions of political authority".
Exhaustive document
The new indictment of 84 pages against Zuma and Thint is a more exhaustive
document than any of the previous charge sheets against the accused or Zuma's
friend and fraud convict, Schabir Shaik.
It indicates the progress made by the Scorpions in
their investigation since the case against Zuma and Thint was thrown out of
court in September 2006. Zuma previously faced only two charges of corruption
based on the indictment in the Shaik trial.
Fourteen charges have now been added, including the crime of racketeering. The
essence of the racketeering charge is that Zuma, Thint and Shaik effectively
formed an enterprise (Nkobi Investments) that existed because of their alleged
corrupt deeds.
The rest of the new charges are one count of money laundering and 12 counts of
fraud -- two relate to his alleged non-declaration of benefits to Parliament and
Cabinet, one to him allegedly lying to Parliament and the rest concern tax
evasion by not revealing his payments from Shaik to the South African Revenue
Service.
The addition of racketeering as the "umbrella charge" means Zuma is no longer
viewed as the outsider politician who was lured by independent entities into
accepting bribes. The state now argues that he was intimately part of the
corrupt enterprise and even refers to him as an "employee" or "associate" of
Nkobi Investments.
This is a significant change of strategy by the NPA, which could now find it
easier to show the court the "bigger picture" of Zuma,
Thint and Shaik's alleged scheme.
To prove racketeering the state will first have to show the existence of the
corrupt enterprise. The new indictment argues that the Nkobi group was an
"ostensibly legitimate group of companies" whose main business was to form joint
ventures with foreign and local businesses.
The enterprise, however, had very little to offer "and relied primarily on
Shaik's much-heralded 'political connectivity' to attract partners", the NPA
argues. The enterprise's objects include "cultivating and
maintaining" corrupt relationships with politicians, paying these politicians,
concealing these payments to the government and maintaining the appearance that
the enterprise was a legitimate business.
To convict Zuma on racketeering charges, the state will have to prove at least
two offences ("racketeering acts") that were committed within 10 years of each
other. The NPA has 1 582 "chances" to do this *1 --
all the other charges against Zuma, including every payment made by Shaik or one
of his companies, are described in the indictment as racketeering acts.
Since racketeering relies heavily on circumstantial evidence, it might be easier
for the state to submit hearsay evidence.
New names on the witness list for the Zuma trial include Minister of Sport
Makhenkesi Stofile, Deputy Minister of Justice Johnny de Lange, former
Democratic Alliance MP Raenette Taljaard, and businessmen Craig Venter of Altech,
Mzi Khumalo of Metallon and Reuel Khoza of AKA Capital.
KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala still has to announce his
appointment of a judge for the "new" Zuma trial, but
rumour in legal circles suggest that his deputy, Judge Phillip Levinsohn, has
been earmarked for the job.
Levinsohn is a highly respected judge who was appointed deputy judge president
in May last year after judge Thabani Jali resigned from the bench to take up a
position in the private sector. Levinsohn featured in the Zuma legal saga last
year when he ruled in favour of the NPA requesting certain original documents
that were seized from Thales's Mauritian office.
With acknowledgements to Adriaan Basson and Mail and Guardian.
*1 Not all of these are in respect of
Accused 1.
Quite a number of these are levelled at Accused 2 and Accused 3.
But there are still nearly a thousand bites at the cherry.