Zuma faces media glare
2003-08-24 13:55
Pretoria - South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma came under the media spotlight on Sunday, a day after prosecutors said they had a prima facie corruption case against him over a multi-billion dollar arms deal.
Newspapers said that "big questions" still needed to be answered in the arms deal saga, after prosecutors said they were uncertain of winning a corruption case against Zuma, 61, and that they would not pursue legal action against him.
The editor of the Sunday Times said: "Zuma still faces an uphill political battle if he wants to fulfil his ambition to take the highest office in the land."
Zuma, who is deputy president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), is high on the list of possible successors to President Thabo Mbeki, who is due to begin his second and final five-year term as president next year.
The City Press stated in its editorial comment: "Either there is a case against Zuma or there is not. What is the impact of this curious approach to justice on Zuma's political standing?"
The chief public prosecutor, Bulelani Ngcuka, said on Saturday that investigators had recommended that charges be brought against Zuma related to a government arms procurement deal which has been plagued with rumours of irregularities.
But, Ngcuka added, the justice ministry was not sure it would win the case, and decided not to prosecute Zuma, the SAPA news agency reported.
"We have concluded that, whilst there is a prima facie case of corruption against the deputy president, our prospects of success are not strong enough," Ngcuka told reporters in Pretoria.
"That means that we are not sure if we have a winnable case. Accordingly, we have decided not to prosecute the deputy president."
The NDPP's elite investigating unit, the Scorpions, was investigating allegations that Zuma tried to solicit R500 000 per year from Thomson-CSF of France (now known as Thales), which is supplying equipment to the armed forces.
In return, he allegedly offered to protect the firm during an investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding the 1999-2000 arms deal with the South African government, worth an estimated five billion dollars.
Zuma has repeatedly rejected the allegations, but his office has yet to react to Saturday's announcement.