Shaik guilty verdict switches spotlight to Zuma

Zuma is now under pressure to relinquish his claim as heir apparent to President Thabo Mbeki, who stands down in 2009, says a report on the News24 site. Judge Hilary Squires, making his pronouncement in an unprecedented live, national TV broadcast, found Shaik guilty of two counts of corruption and one of fraud. Squires said there was ‘overwhelming’ evidence of a corrupt relationship between Shaik and Zuma. Shaik, a former ANC banker during the apartheid era, was accused of paying Zuma R1.2m in bribes from one of his companies, Nkobi Holdings, without the knowledge of shareholders. Full report on the News24 site

Zuma must have been aware of bribes sought by Shaik on his behalf, Squires said in his judgment. The evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the money sought from French arms manufacturer, Thomson CSF, was intended for Zuma, Squires is quoted as saying in a News24 report. The National Prosecuting Authority, however, wouldn’t say whether Zuma\'s prosecution was the next step. ‘The National Director (Vusi Pikoli) will need to consider the judgment,’ spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said. ‘If there is anything to be done about it (Zuma) ... it will be done,’ he said. Sentencing proceedings are to start today (Friday). Full report on the News24 site

Zuma said an investigation had shown there was no case against him, and he had therefore not appeared in any court. Interviewed in Zambia, where he is on an official visit, for SABC News, he said: ‘I will certainly be studying the judgment and I think that is what I can say’. And according to a report in The Witness, the former head of the NPA, Bulelani Ngcuka, who found there was prima facie evidence against Zuma, but said he would not be prosecuted as it would be impossible to win the case, declined to comment on yesterday\'s verdict. A statement from the government communications department said the fact that the trial continued without interference testified to the maturity of SA\'s democracy. ‘Government respects the findings of the court, noting at the same time that our legal system affords those convicted the possibility of appealing to higher courts,’ the statement said. Full report in The Witness

But the DA and other opposition parties have called for his resignation. ‘Zuma – while not on trial himself – has been found guilty in absentia,’ DA justice spokesperson Sheila Camerer said, according to a report on the News24 site. ‘Zuma\'s position is now fundamentally compromised and he has become an embarrassment, not only to President Mbeki, but also to the ANC and the country as a whole,’ she said. Full report on the News24 site

Cosatu, however, has been more circumspect. Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said Zuma had not been convicted of any offence. ‘So we cannot assume that anyone is guilty before he or she has been given a chance to defend him or herself.’ And the Young Communist League said: ‘We remain steadfastly in support of Zuma, and believe a judge in court cannot question his unifying character and commitment to the movement.’ Full IoL report

President Thabo Mbeki has been briefed on the outcome of the trial. ‘The president has been appraised and he has noted the developments,’ spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe said in an IoL report. ‘And when we say that all of this will require considered reflection, we are also referring to reflection by the president himself and other authorities.’ Mbeki is on a state visit to the US. Full report on the IoL site

Shaik is still claiming to be innocent. He is quoted in a report on the IoL site as saying: ‘I walk in the light of my Lord. I am innocent. I will hold that view till the day that I meet Him... don\'t lose faith in our Lord, because I don\'t.’ Shaik\'s brother Mo said the conviction was ‘not something we expected’. The State will call witnesses today to testify in aggravation of sentence, according to prosecutor Billy Downer. He said Shaik\'s advocate, Francois van Zyl, would then ask for an adjournment until Tuesday. Full report on the IoL site

Nevertheless, the State wants his assets. Advocate Billy Downer SC, chief prosecutor, told the court the NPA would be lodging an application to confiscate Shaik\'s assets. Members of the NPA\'s asset forfeiture unit have been attending Shaik\'s trial since Tuesday, says a report on the News24 site. Shaik\'s assets, including the black BMW 745i in which he arrived at the court every morning, amount to millions. According to Downer, the State wants to apply in terms of section 18(1) of the Crime Prevention Act to attach Shaik\'s assets. Full report on the News24 site

The judgment is expected to help set a precedent for future prosecutions and serve to clarify where the line between corruption and legitimate political lobbying should be drawn. SABC News reports that this is according to Robin Palmer, professor of law at the University if KwaZulu-Natal, who said that the judgment would also be ‘very useful as an indicator for future behaviour of politicians’. Palmer says that Squires’ thoroughness in supporting every statement with an example from the record serves an important purpose: if the case should go on appeal, it will be difficult for the Appeal Court to overturn the ruling if the facts were meticulously spelt out. Full SABC News report