Publication: The Post Issued: Date: 2005-11-09 Reporter: Jeremy Gordin Reporter: Nalisha Kalideen

Zuma Really Wants His Day in Court - Counsel

 

Publication 

The Post
Date

2005-11-09

Reporter

 Jeremy Gordin, Nalisha Kalideen

Web Link

www.thepost.co.za



Jacob Zuma wants his day in court, says a member of the former deputy president's defence team.

Responding to reports that the National Prosecuting Authority had not ruled out the possibility of a plea bargain, the senior legal adviser said: "All I can tell you is that accused number one (Jacob Zuma) really wants to fight this one hard. He's rarin' to go, really wants his day in court, and has told us not to pull any punches at all. *1"

The lawyer, who did not want to be named, said "of course" there had been a great deal of talk about a deal being struck between the authorities and Zuma and that, to his knowledge, there had been at least two overtures made to Zuma in recent months by senior and respected ANC members.

But he said that, as far as he knew, there had been no "official" discussions about a deal being cut between the NPA and Zuma*2.

He said all discussions had been informal and had not included anyone from the NPA *3 or the ministry of justice.

He said Zuma's looming trial had split the party badly and that the ANC "or at least many of its senior members" wanted to avoid embarrassment and trouble.

"But the old man (Zuma) has told us to go for it ... he is adamant that he is innocent and that he wants his day in court."

He added that a plea bargain implied that Zuma would be obliged to plead guilty to the two counts of corruption with which he had been charged "and I just can't see that happening".

However, he said he did not rule out the possibility of a deal being made.

He was also aware that senior members of the NPA had stated informally that they were expecting a "very short trial indeed", which might imply that a bargain was being entertained.

But "we sought time for a proper trial", he said. "The trial, due to begin on July 31, has been set down for four months."

He said if there were a deal made in the next nine months, he did not believe it would be made in the "normal legal manner".

There would have to be some kind of deal "one beyond the authority of the NPA" in terms of which the charges would have to be dropped. "Can you see that happening?" he asked.

Meanwhile, a dead Mauritian policeman and the man who successfully prosecuted Schabir Shaik both appear on the State's witness list appended to the indictment against Zuma.

On Tuesday, the NPA officially released its provisional indictment against Zuma and two local subsidiaries of French arms giant Thales. Zuma, Thint Holding Pty Ltd (Southern Africa) and Thint Pty Ltd are each charged with two counts of corruption.

Appended is the State's 105-person witness list, which is almost identical to the list provided by the State before the trial of Schabir Shaik, Zuma's former financial adviser.

The dead Mauritian policeman is Superintendent Dharmendra Jugoo. He was called for Shaik's trial in connection with Scorpion raids on Thint's Mauritian offices, but died of natural causes before the trial.

The prosecutor in Shaik's trial, advocate Billy Downer SC, is also on the Zuma witness list

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Gordin, Nalisha Kalideen and The Post.


*1       In later circumstances Zuma's legal representatives have denied that he has ever wanted his day in court.


*2      My information is that way back in the 2003 timeframe a middle -ranking member of the NPA was interlocuting on behalf of Leonard McCarthy [Deputy National Director of the National Prosecuting Authority] and Bulelani Ngcuka [National Director of the National Prosecuting Authority] with Yunis Shaik on behalf of Jacob Zuma, the Accused.


An interesting observation is that one of the authors of this article is Jeremy Gordin.

Now Gordin has always had the inside track on anything relevant to the trial of Zuma and Thomson-CSF Southern Africa Holdings.

He is also the author of Jacob Zuma's very recent biography, presumably an authorised biography.

It is especially interesting because Gordin refers to his source as a counsel, a senior legal advisor and a lawyer and not as an attorney or an advocate.

Gordin is known to be on very good terms indeed with Kessie Naidu SC, who was Zuma's original advocate on the corruption matter. Naidu was then retained by Thomson-CSF on the same matter and so had to withdraw as Zuma's counsel when Thomson-CSF was recharged with corruption in 2005.

Just wonder as to the identity of Gordin's saucy source.