NPA: No plea bargain plans
2005-11-09 15:02
Pretoria - Former deputy president Jacob Zuma would reject any plea bargain offered by the state in his corruption trial, his lawyer Michael Hulley said on Wednesday.
"The likelihood of a plea bargain being accepted is nil," Hulley told Sapa.
"Part of the process of plea bargaining involves the accused person acknowledging guilt - in essence a guilty plea.
"That has been consistently not Mr Zuma's version of what has taken place."
Hulley said no offer had been made to date, and there was no indication of one coming - except through the media.
The Business Day newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Scorpions special investigating unit had signalled its preparedness to entertain a plea bargain with Zuma - possibly resulting in a non-custodial sentence.
Innocence
Hulley said his instructions were that Zuma maintained his innocence.
"We have no knowledge of the allegations, and dispute what the State is saying."
National prosecuting authority spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said he was not aware of any intention by the State to initiate a plea bargain process with Zuma.
"The issue of a plea bargain on the said matter has not arisen.
Neither the NPA nor Mr Zuma and his legal representatives have made any offers of a possible plea bargain."
But the possibility could not be ruled out, Nkosi said.
Conditions
For a plea bargain to be offered, a number of conditions had to be met, he explained.
These included that the accused person had to plead guilty to the specified charges, and that the investigating officer approved of the idea.
The interests of the community and the personal circumstances of the accused person were also taken into account, Nkosi said.
Asked if the required conditions could be met in Zuma's case, he said: "I cannot say that".
Were Zuma to plead guilty and receive a non-custodial sentence, this could theoretically pave the way for him to become the country's next president.
A person was not allowed to hold public office if sentenced to 12 months or more in jail without the option of a fine.
105 potential State witnesses
Were it to receive a proposal on a possible plea bargain, the NPA said in a statement, this would be considered "on its own merits and in accordance with the relevant policies and legislation".
The Star newspaper reported that Zuma would receive a list of 105 potential State witnesses - including politicians, business people, lawyers and investigators.
The list was attached to a provisional indictment due to be presented to Zuma when he appears in the Durban magistrate's court on Saturday for his case to be referred to the high court for trial.
The trial is to get underway on July 31 next year.
On the witness list were Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, Nelson Mandela's former attorney Ismail Ayob and businessman Richard Young.
Court appearance
The Star quoted the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal as saying it would seek to ensure Zuma's court appearance on Saturday was incident-free.
ANC marshals would be on duty around the court building, where thousands of Zuma supporters were expected.
His previous appearance saw supporters burning T-shirts bearing the image of President Thabo Mbeki.
Mbeki fired his deputy following the conviction of Zuma's legal advisor Schabir Shaik on charges related to a "generally corrupt relationship" between the pair.
- SAPA