Zuma asks NPA: Did you pay Khwezi?
Former president goes all out to prove bias as he seeks stay of prosecution
Former president Jacob Zuma’s lawyers are taking the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to court to force them to reveal, among others, if the authority or anyone else made payments to his rape accuser.
Zuma is again attempting to prove that he is a victim of the prosecuting authorities rather than the person responsible for hobbling its capacity to investigate serious crimes.
His latest move has been slammed by the prosecutor in the rape case, Charin de Beer, who said any suggestion that Fezeka Khuzwayo was paid is “absolute nonsense”.
Khuzwayo fled overseas after Zuma was acquitted of raping her in 2006. She later returned to the country and died in 2016.
Zuma’s lawyers told the NPA they needed answers about any payments made to Khuzwayo, and 38 other categories of information, because the former president “intends to bring an application for the permanent stay of the prosecution against him, based inter alia on pretrial irregularities committed by the SA Police Service and the NPA, as well as on both charge delay and trial delay, leading to irremediable prejudice”.
In a letter written in July to the NPA by Zuma’s lawyer Daniel Mantsha, a request was made for “full details of all payments made to, for, or on behalf of the complainant in the S v Zuma rape trial … from the date of the complaint on November 2005 to August 31 2008”.
“If the NPA has arranged for such payments by others or are aware of any public monies being expended for this purpose without it making such payments, full details thereof are required.”
The requests were “about prosecutorial integrity and independence. It is the conduct of the NPA in matters concerning our client which is a grave cause of concern to him. It is not about [Khuzwayo]…”
De Beer denied the NPA paid Khuzwayo, “with the rider that there may have been witness protection programme payments from the police or witness fees paid to her”. She said any suggestion the NPA’s pursuit of Zuma on the rape charge was driven by
‘‘ There’s no question in my mind. She was raped. She was not paid to lay a complaint
political motives are “absolute nonsense. She was not paid to lay that complaint. She was raped. There’s no question in my mind to this day.”
NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku declined to comment as the matter was headed to court.
In a letter sent to Zuma’s lawyers last Tuesday, acting national director of public prosecutions Silas Ramaite refused to accede to the demands.
Ramaite told Zuma’s lawyers they would have to bring a formal application to access information not contained in the police docket.
Zuma’s legal team intends to launch an application for a permanent stay of the prosecution next month.