Publication	News24
Date	2005-11-15
Reporter	Philip de Bruin
Web Link	www.news24.co.za

Philip de Bruin
Pietermaritzburg

"It is my prerogative, and solely my prerogative, to decide which judge will be in charge of Jacob Zuma's trial next year in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court," was the pithy reaction of Judge President of KwaZulu-Natal Vuka Tshabalala after the Zuma trial was formally transferred to the high court at the weekend and a date set.

Tshabalala confirmed he alone will make the decision about the trial judge. "I don't need to consult Judge Langa (Chief Justice Pius Langa) about it," he said.

Asked whether he has considered to whom he will allocate the case, Tshabalala said: "No, I have not. That's a decision I'll make some time next year."

But legal experts said that for various reasons Zuma's trial will probably not be heard by a judge from KwaZulu-Natal.

One of the reasons is that the Schabir Shaik trial now being linked to the Zuma trial, was completed in the same high court. In this case Tshabalala decided to recruit retired Judge Hilary Squires for the trial.

Legal experts thought another reason was Zuma's close ties with KwaZulu-Natal. "Although the integrity of the judges cannot be doubted for an instant, in their own interests and in the interests of the administration of justice it would be wise to ask someone outside the province to take charge of the Zuma trial," one of the experts said on Monday.