|
Zuma Fights On |
| Publication |
Cape Argus |
| Date | 2008-11-10 |
|
Web Link |
Jacob Zuma's two-year-long lack of legal funding from government will
not delay his latest court wrangle with the State - despite protests from his
lawyers.
The Supreme Court of Appeal scheduled the National Prosecuting Authority's
challenge to the effective quashing of Zuma's graft prosecution for November 28,
over three months earlier than the date suggested by the ANC president's
lawyers.
Appeal Court president Lex Mpati was seemingly unmoved by submissions made by
Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley, who
claimed lawyers for the aspirant president were only able to argue the appeal in
February in 2009.
According to Hulley, who has since declined to comment on his correspondence to
Mpati, this was because Zuma's lawyers had
not received State funding for any work completed
after 2006.
As a result, he said, they had been forced
to take other work and would not be available for the
November date.
While Hulley did not detail how much Zuma's legal team was owed, the outstanding
legal costs are believed to run into several million rands.
Pretoria-based state Attorney Aletta Mosidi confirmed that Zuma's lawyers had
not received any money since their nearly
R10-million payout for his previous corruption trial.
This case was struck from the roll by Judge Herbert Msimang in 2006.
She stressed that her office was, however, attempting to resolve the impasse
that had resulted in the fees deadlock between Zuma's lawyers and the
Presidency's legal department.
The Presidency is responsible for paying costs related to Zuma's iced corruption
case fees, because he was accused of committing certain corrupt acts while in
office as deputy president.
With acknowledgements to Cape Argus.