Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Countdown to former president Zuma’s day in court
FORMER president Jacob Zuma is no stranger to South Africa’s courts of law, especially those dealing with criminal matters.
Yesterday the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shaun Abrahams, reinstated 18 criminal charges against Zuma. The former president’s oft-repeated call, “Let me have my day in court”, is now a reality.
Zuma’s post-apartheid legal woes began in June 2005, a few days after Judge Hilary Squires in the High Court in Durban passed a damning ruling against Zuma’s financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, who was found guilty on two counts of fraud and corruption.
In August 2005, the now-disbanded Scorpions raided Zuma’s two homes in Johannesburg and Nkandla, as well as the offices of his lawyer in Durban and Joburg.
Four months later, Zuma was sneaked into the Johannesburg magistrate’s court to be formally charged with rape. His accuser, Fezeka Kuzwayo, was the daughter of Zuma’s friend and fellow member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Judson Kuzwayo.
Zuma’s court appearance did not happen without a dramatic clash: members of the Scorpions and Zuma’s bodyguards were reportedly involved in a serious altercation. The Scorpions were at Zuma’s door to serve him with a charge of rape.
The trial against him began in the Joburg High Court on March 6, 2006, but he was acquitted two months later. Despite that, Judge Willem van der Merwe had harsh words for Zuma. He told him that it was “totally unacceptable” for him to have unprotected sex with a woman who was not one of his partners, especially knowing that she was HIV positive.
It was after that ruling that Zuma consolidated his control over the ANC. He was elected ANC president in December 18, 2007.
Exactly 10 days later, Zuma was officially charged with 18 counts, ranging from corruption, racketeering and money laundering to multiple counts of fraud.
In September 2008, Zuma approached the High Court in Durban and made an application to dismiss all 18 charges against him.
Judge Chris Nicholson agreed with Zuma and endorsed his views of a political conspiracy against him.
During the same month, the ANC recalled Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe took over as president.
In January 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) set aside Judge Nicholson’s ruling. This prompted Zuma to approach the NPA again.
In February, he supplied the then NPA acting head Mokotedi Mpshe with records of conversations of former NPA Bulelani Ngcuka and former Scorpions head Leonard McCarthy to justify his claim of a conspiracy against him.
Mpshe withdrew the criminal charges against him on April 6, 2009. His decision was further endorsed by the High Court in Durban on April 7, 2009.
The DA had to spend more than R10 million to have that ruling overturned in the SCA.
In September last year the SCA ruled that Mpshe had used a wrong statute to withdraw the charges against Zuma.
The SCA ordered the reinstatement of the charges against Zuma.
After that ruling, Zuma was again offered an opportunity to make representations to the NPA and the deadline was set for November 30 last year and later extended to January 31 this year.
Yesterday, NPA head Abrahams turned against Zuma and decided to reinstate charges against him.