South Africa's ruling party leader Jacob Zuma may seek
immunity from prosecution
if his legal team fail to convince
prosecutors to drop graft charges, his lawyer said on
Thursday.
These charges have dogged Zuma for years and muddied his presidential ambitions
ahead of general elections in 2009. Zuma's African National Congress party faces
its first serious challenge since apartheid ended in 1994 from the Congress of
the People (COPE), formed by influential ANC defectors.
Zuma's lawyer, Michael Hulley, said there were
ongoing discussions with
the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to dismiss the corruption charges
against the ANC leader.
"We are (continuing) with our discussions with the NPA and it is anticipated by
the end of tomorrow we will have an
agreement on a timetable that would take into account all
the legal matters that still need to be traversed," Hulley told Reuters.
He said if representations to the NPA failed to have the charges dropped, Zuma
would pursue other avenues to quash the litigation that has raised
alarm bells with foreign investors in Africa's
strongest economy *1.
"Among others, these included a Constitutional Court challenge and an
application for a permanent stay of prosecution, a separate and distinct
application that will be before the Pietermaritzburg Court," Hulley said.
An Appeals Court ruling, which overturned an earlier court ruling, this month
opened the door for prosecutors to pursue the corruption case against Zuma
again.
The High Court ruling, which hinted at political interference from former
President Thabo Mbeki to deny Zuma the state presidency, led to the ANC ousting
Mbeki last September.
Hulley said he did not foresee a trial
date being set for Zuma when he was scheduled to appear in Pietermaritzburg on
February 4 *2. The NPA was not immediately available to
comment.
Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Louise Ireland
With acknowledgements
to Wendell Roelf and Cape Times.
*1It is not so much
the litigation that has raised alarm bells with foreign investors in Africa's
strongest economy, it is having a sitting president who to all intents and
purposes has been found by the Supreme Court of Appeals to have been in a
generally corrupt relationship with another.
And this same court has found that this same Accused person was in a
specifically corrupt relationship with one of the most corrupt corporate
entities on the entire planet, i.e. Thomson-CSF.
The status of the situation at this stage is that unless this Accused person can
show in court why he is not guilty, then he is guilty.
That, countryfolk, is the true and unchallengeable reality about this sad, sad
affair.
But it is encouraging that he will fight to the end, for the end is nigh.
*2Well, very emphatically and hopefully, the NPA is going
to demand that a trial date is set down and let's hope this whipper snapper of a
black lady judge plays it right down the middle and sets a fair court.
Fair is as soon as is reasonably possible - that is around early to mid-April
2009.