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Zuma legal woes on NEC agenda
06/01/2008 16:16 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The corruption charge against ANC president Jcob Zuma is on the agenda of the first meeting since his election of the party's national executive council (NEC) on Monday, the party secretary general said on Sunday.
"The corruption charge against Zuma is on the agenda. It (NEC) will deal with the issue, but it will not be the major focus of the meeting," Gwede Mantashe, told AFP.
"We will handle the issue in a way that it will not affect the nation's judiciary process," he said, without further explanation.
Zuma was on December 28 charged with fraud, corruption, money laundering, racketeering and tax evasion following a probe which also implicated a French arms manufacturing group, Thales.
The trial of Zuma, who married his fourth wife on Saturday, is scheduled for August 14. 'Courts must decide'
Two leading South African jurists on Saturday said that the graft case against Zuma, which has attracted local and international attention, should be settled by the courts alone.
In a statement, Arthur Chaskalson, the first post-apartheid head of the Constitutional Court, and George Bizos, ex-defence lawyer for former president Nelson Mandela, said the courts should be allowed to decide on the matter.
"Putting pressure on the courts by making serious allegations of partiality, uttering threats of massive demonstrations and expressing opinions in intemperate language are harmful to the judicial process, to our constitutional democracy and to our country's reputation," the statement sent to SAPA said.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions, one of Zuma's biggest backers, condemned the move by the National Prosecuting Authority to charge Zuma with corruption as a "politically inspired campaign" using state institutions to settle factional battles within the ANC. 'Political vendetta'
His other supporters said that Zuma, believed to be on frosty terms with Mbeki, was the victim of a "political vendetta".
The ANC national executive meeting in Johannesburg will, among other things, also elect a 20-member National Working Committee, to oversee the day-to-day running of the party, Mantashe said.
Zuma and members of the ANC executive were elected at the party's conference in Polokwane.
The meeting will also discuss the contents of the ANC's yearly "January 8" statement.
The statement, which gives the policy direction of the party, is given annually to mark the anniversary of the ANC.
- AFP
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