Jacob Zuma could be president of the country when he applies
for his corruption prosecution to be permanently quashed - if his lawyers have
their way.
Zuma's lawyers on Wednesday formally proposed
August 12 as the date for
the ANC president's permanent stay of prosecution application, which
he has promised would detail the alleged
"political conspiracy" behind the corruption,
racketeering, money-laundering and fraud charges against him.
The proposed August date - which falls after the mooted April date for South
Africa's national elections - is later
than the June date suggested by Zuma's prosecutors.
NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali on Wednesday confirmed that the state had received
correspondence from Zuma's lawyers on Wednesday, but declined to comment on the
dates Zuma's legal team had proposed.
"The parties are still in discussion about the timetable (for Zuma's future
court actions). We have not finalised the dates and will comment on our response
to them as soon as we are able to do so," he said.
Speaking to The Star on Wednesday, ANC spokesperson Carl Niehaus said he could
not confirm or deny the new court dates proposed by Zuma's legal team.
"Mr Zuma and the NPA are still engaged in discussions at the moment and I can't
say whether there has been a proposal or not," he said.
Niehaus confirmed that the ANC was planning to
show its support for Zuma
at his February 4 appearance
at the Pietermaritzburg High Court, but said details of such demonstrations had
yet to be finalised.
Meanwhile, in their new court timetable proposal delivered to the NPA on
Wednesday morning, Zuma's lawyers
reiterated their desire to make representations to the
National Prosecuting Authority regarding the case against him.
They stated, however, that the January 26
deadline by which
they had agreed *1 on to do so had been
"wholly inadequate" and
instead proposed February 9
as their new representations' submission deadline.
The February 9 date is one week after the filing deadline for Zuma's
Constitutional Court appeal bid, in which he will attempt to overturn the
Supreme Court of Appeal's finding that his prosecution is valid.
Zuma's prosecution was reinstated after five Supreme Court of Appeal judges
unanimously overturned Judge Chris Nicholson's finding that the NPA was legally
obliged to seek his representations before charging him.
This article was originally published on page 1 of
The Star
on January 29, 2009