Publication: Sunday Tribune Issued: Date: 2005-11-06 Reporter: Jeremy Gordin Reporter:

Routine Court Date for Zuma

 

Publication 

Sunday Tribune

Date

2005-11-06

Reporter

Jeremy Gordin

Web Link

www.sundaytribune.co.za

 

Former deputy president Jacob Zuma will appear on Saturday in the Durban regional court for his case to be referred to the High Court on July 31.

According to the indictment, charged alongside Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, accused number one, are Thint Holding Pty Ltd (Southern Africa), accused number two, and Thint Pty Ltd, accused number three *1.

The second accused is owned by Thales. It, in turn, holds 80% of Thint Pty Ltd. Nkobi Holdings, the company owned by Schabir Shaik, and now managed by his brother Mo, holds the other 20% of Thint Pty Ltd.

Zuma and the two companies are each charged on two counts of corruption.

The main charge against Zuma is that he benefited in a corrupt manner to the tune of about R1.3 million from his relationship with Shaik and was therefore part of a generally corrupt relationship.

It is alleged that Zuma, previously a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and KZN minister of economic affairs and tourism, then deputy president of South Africa from June 1999, was in a position to recompense Shaik for payment by using his influence in a number of areas. Appended to the indictment is a list of payouts allegedly made to Zuma by Shaik. They total R1 269 224.91.

Some of the money is alleged to have gone towards the construction of Zuma's home at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal, the cost of which, says the state, was R1 340 000.

Zuma is also alleged to have co-operated in arrangements made by Shaik with Thales for Zuma to be paid R500 000 a year, for two years, in return for his "protection" from arms deal investigations.

The Nkobi-Thales consortium had won a tender for the supply of combat suites in the corvettes ordered as part of the Strategic Defence Package Acquisition Programme, otherwise known as the arms deal. The tender was worth R450 million to Shaik and Thales. The total corvette deal was worth R1.3 billion *2.

Both Thint companies are charged with having been party to the arms deal bribe request. Neither Thint nor Alain Thetard, then local director of Thales, was charged during Shaik's trial, because then minister of justice Penuell Maduna and then Scorpions chief Bulelani Ngcuka offered Thint immunity from prosecution in return for an affidavit from Thetard about a so-called encrypted fax, sent by Thetard to his bosses in France.

As it turned out, Thetard testified that the fax was not a "bribe document" but merely his doodlings during a meeting. However, it is understood that Ngcuka wanted proof, for the Shaik trial, that the fax document was not simply a fabrication which was effectively provided by Thetard's affidavit.

Sources at Thales in France have said that immunity was granted to them previously. This being the case, the company would not co-operate in any new matter. Piere Moynot, the local Thint director, is out of the country but said last week that "the matter" had not happened on his watch, so there was little to say *4.


• Political Correspondent Christelle Terreblanche reports that it is still uncertain whether the state will pay Zuma's legal costs for the trial, which could run into millions. Zuma last month formally asked for state legal aid. Presidential spokesman, Murphy Morobe, told Independent Newspapers yesterday that a legal opinion on the matter had been sought from the Justice Department and that it was expected soon.

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Gordin and the Sunday Tribune.


*1  Yesterday's article by same author had accused number three as Nkobi Holdings.

This doesn't make sense because this would amount to quadruple jeopardy - being tried a second time for the same offence - after being found guilty the first time. Makes Wouter Basson previous problems minor by comparison.

Maybe a natural person from Nkobi Holdings will be a witness in the new trial.

*2  No, no - the total corvette deal was worth R6,873 billion in 1998 Rands (R6 872 755 159 to be exact).

The total corvette combat suite deal was worth R2,5990 billion in 1998 Rands.

The Thomson-CSF/ADS portion of the corvette combat suite deal was worth R1,330 billion in 1998 Rands (R1 330 397 640
to be exact).

The ADS portion of the corvette combat suite deal was worth R413 million in 1998 Rands (R412 757 500 to be exact).

The Nkobi Holdings portion of the corvette combat suite deal was worth R82 million in 1998 Rands (R82 551 500 to be exact).

One can escalate all 1998 values by about 70% to get approximate 2005 values.

*3  Pierre Moynot - The Candid Gaul

Moynot was Thomson-CSF's delegate in SA from the early nineties until he handed over to Alain Thetard in 1998. Moynot then became CEO of ADS, but remained a director of the two Thints. He then took over from Thetard in 2001 when the heat became too hot for Thetard. Moynot is on record as having initiated the contact between Zuma and Thomson-CSF in 1997 and as having attended various meetings with Schabir Shaik and Zuma, including a rather important on 18 November 1998, along with Jean-Paul Perrier and Alain Thetard.

Moynot also needs to do a good deal of explaining in some other areas as well.