Both sides in Zuma trial ready to rumble
Former president Jacob Zuma’s erstwhile attorney Eric Mabuza will have to appear in the Pietermaritzburg high court today to explain his withdrawal as a member of Zuma’s legal team last month ahead of a highprofile corruption hearing.
Mabuza did not provide the court any reasons for his withdrawal in April. His exit from Zuma’s side, along with advocate Muzi Sikhakhane SC, has yet to be explained.
According to attorney and legal analyst Ulrich Roux, Mabuza has been ordered to appear in court today, when trial hearings begin in what is easily the country’s most high-profile corruption case.
The trial of Zuma and coaccused, arms company Thales, over a multibillion-rand arms deal is set to run until June 20.
Roux says Zuma may seek a postponement, based on the change to his legal team. “It is interesting that the deputy judge of the KwaZulu-Natal high court has instructed Zuma’s previous attorney Eric Mabuza to appear before court to explain why he withdrew so shortly before the trial started,” says Roux.
Roux added: “There have also been rumours that they want to bring an application for the prosecutor Billy Downer to recuse himself. Personally, I don’t believe there’s any merit whatsoever in such an application. But one will have need to wait and see whether they do bring that application.”
Zuma’s charges include fraud, corruption, racketeering and money laundering stemming from the acquisition of strategic arms in the late 1990s.
Zuma’s spokesperson Vukile Mathabela told Business Day: “We’re ready to rumble.
“The only thing I can say is that president Zuma will be in court and he is ready for trial.”
Not deterred by the numerous delays in this trial over more than a decade, National Prose
cuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Sipho Ngwema also expressed confidence in its readiness for trial.
“The NPA is ready to proceed with the trial,” Ngwema told Business Day on Sunday. “We have done all the necessary preparations and all our 217 witnesses are ready. We have no doubt this is the moment the accused has always been looking forward to. We are certain that the accused will take the opportunity with both hands.”
BULLDOG
Zuma will be represented by advocate Thabani Masuku SC with Mondli Thusini as the new attorney of record.
Masuku was previously a member of Zuma’s legal team while Thusini is the latest member of the team. Masuku was clerk to former Constitutional Court judge Richard Goldstone from January 1998 to August 1999.
Barry Roux SC, known for his bullish style, will represent Thales alongside advocate Samantha Jackson.
Attorneys Jonathan Evans and Cameron Smith complete Thales’s legal team.
HIS STRATEGY HAS AT ALL TIMES BEEN, WHEN HE’S INVOLVED IN COURT APPLICATIONS, TO FRUSTRATE THE PROCESS
Roux says Zuma is repeating a pattern of simply kicking the can down the road.
“I think it’s more of an abuse of the legal system by Zuma. His strategy has at all times been, when he’s involved in court applications, to frustrate the process, to delay the process.”
Political analyst Sanusha Naidu describes Monday as a “big test” for the ANC both inside and outside the court.
“I think that would be the first issue to look at in terms of whether they’ll proceed immediately with the trial, as the state says they are prepared and they have over 200 witnesses, with minister Patricia de Lille being the first big witness for the state,” she said.
“And that’s going to be very critical in terms of what’s currently happening within the political dynamics of the party and, more importantly, how this will be received and perceived in terms of the party itself,” said Naidu.
“You know, we talk a lot about factionalism in the party and, I think, this is the next big test for it in terms of the trial but also the support that comes outside the party. Now, can [suspended ANC secretary-general] Ace Magashule be there? I think that’s a big question.”