Zuma’s legal team playing a ‘high-stakes game’, say analysts

Zuma’s lawyer Muzi Sikhakhane surprised the court with a new piece of evidence in the form of a letter showing the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was still investigating the possibility of political interference in the Zuma case. He presented the letter on the third day of Zuma’s trial last week. Zuma, 77, was in court last week facing corruption charges for a case dating back to the arms deal in the 1990s.

He is accused of taking bribes from French defence company Thales when he was provincial economy minister and later as deputy president of the ANC. Zuma and Thales deny the charges.

Zuma’s legal team and that of Thales were presenting applications for a permanent stay of prosecution in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg. Sikhakhane claimed the letter was from March 2018, and was between former president Thabo Mbeki and former Justice Penuell Maduna.

In an attempt to have the graft charges against Zuma permanently halted, Sikhakhane argued the document was relevant, as the NPA had told the court under oath there was no political interference in the matter.

Political analyst Andre Duvenhage said the letter was not concrete evidence and that “political intervention” was quite subjective and hard to prove. He said he was unsure of how they would be able to prove there had been political intervention because of that.

“Politics is always a grey area because it’s all over the place. The letter seems like the last card the Zuma team is trying to play because there are no options left. I believe he is in trouble,” Duvenhage said.

“I cannot see it going through. The judges will not throw the case out if they are not able to prove the intervention, and the NPA now has a new head (Shamila Batohi) and they are not as sympathetic.”

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said Zuma’s legal team was playing a “high-stakes game”.

He said “Zuma seemed to be hellbent on avoiding having to respond to the merits of the case.

“Producing secret documents seems to be a similar legal tactic as having tried the spy tapes. They seem to be focused on driving a conspiracy theory that the NPA is not acting in the interests of justice.”

Hundreds of Zuma loyalists greeted him after his first court appearance, most in yellow shirts bearing an image of his face. The crowd lessened later in the week. However, speculation the Zuma camp could not afford to sponsor his supporters was canned by Bishop Vusi Dube.

He said they had not arranged to bus supporters in daily and that “they are taking money out of their own pockets” to come. The judgment is expected to be presented in three months.

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