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NPA sets sights on Zuma
12/12/2006 21:12 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Prosecutors have filed an application for a court order that could clear the way for new criminal charges against former deputy president Jacob Zuma, prosecution documents showed on Tuesday.
The corruption trial of the popular Zuma, once seen as the
most likely successor to President Thabo Mbeki, collapsed in
September, keeping alive hopes for his rise to the top.
Controversy around Zuma has split the ANC, tested Mbeki's hold on power and set the stage for a rocky party leadership conference in 2007.
The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) said earlier it was
weighing new charges against Zuma stemming from a South African
arms procurement deal in 1999 that sparked a graft scandal.
On Tuesday the NPA gave Reuters details of its application
for a court order to obtain key documents held by authorities in
Mauritius. They were seized from a local branch of a French arms
contractor that had been charged along with Zuma.
The documents include a diary in which a former head of the
French firm, Thint, made a note of a meeting he allegedly had
with Zuma and his aide Schabir Shaik agreeing a bribe for Zuma.
Shaik was convicted on fraud and corruption charges.
Bribe discussion
Prosecutors say the diary and other documents would confirm
that a bribe for Zuma was discussed and agreed.
"The information contained in these documents will be
required for any prosecution that may arise," the NPA said in an
affidavit filed on Tuesday in Durban High Court.
"There is a reasonable prospect that charges could in future
be re-instituted against one or more of the erstwhile accused,"
it said.
The application asks the court to request the Mauritius
authorities to hand over the documents in terms of South
Africa's International Co-operation in Criminal Matters Act.
Zuma and Thint have until next February to oppose the
application.
- Reuters
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