Johannesburg - Jacob Zuma and the ANC plan to "spill the beans" on corruption in the arms deal in a bid to end his legal woes *1, the Mail & Guardian reported on Friday.

It said the ruling party planned to show the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that its president was "small fry" in the arms deal saga and there was more damaging evidence, including documentation, allegedly implicating former president Thabo Mbeki and Cope president Terror Lekota.

It said the ANC and Zuma's legal teams planned to "'prove' to the NPA that Zuma had no criminal intent when he accepted gifts and money from fraud convict Schabir Shaik and can therefore not be convicted of corruption" and "argue that persisting with Zuma's prosecution is not in the public interest".

Zuma's lawyer Michael Hulley on Friday declined to comment on the report saying he "did not respond to articles with unnamed sources *2".

He reiterated, however, that the NPA had agreed to a representation request from Zuma's legal team but declined to disclose the contents of the representation to be made to the authority.

No attempt at political solution

The ANC declined to comment on the M&G report. Spokesperson Carl Niehaus said only that the party had appointed legal representation "to look into the matter and get actively involved in the case", and was in consultation with them on the way forward.

He reiterated that a legal solution to the party president's woes would be sought and there would be no attempt at a political solution.

There would also be no plea bargain and no legislative changes to prevent a sitting president from facing charges.

Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga declined to comment and Lekota's spokesperson Tseliso Phomane dismissed the report as "speculative".

Zuma's battle against graft charges took a knock this week when five Supreme Court of Appeal judges effectively reinstated the charges against him by overturning Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Chris Nicholson's earlier ruling in his favour.

Zuma was charged in 2005, but the case was struck from the roll in 2006. He was recharged in December 2007. Nicholson then set aside the decision to prosecute him in September 2008.

With acknowledgements to News24.