AFRICAN NATIONAL Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma will try to strike a deal with prosecutors if an appeal court on Monday decides he must face the graft charges dismissed last September, the ruling party said yesterday.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) will rule on the appeal lodged by the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) against a high court decision that Mr Zuma should have been afforded the opportunity to make representations to the body before it decided to recharge the ANC leader.
Mr Zuma, who was elected ANC president in December 2007, is the favourite to win the country’s presidential election this year. He was recharged with corruption and fraud relating to an arms deal with French arms company Thint shortly after being elected party leader.
His supporters believe the decision to recharge him is politically motivated and effectively an attempt by his enemies to try and stop him becoming South Africa’s next president.
Reopening the case against Mr Zuma as he leads his party on the campaign trial would at the very least taint his image at an important time. Even more crucial, though, under the constitution no one with a criminal record can lead South Africa.
ANC spokesman Carl Niehaus said yesterday that in the event the appeal court ruled against Mr Zuma, it would be “logical” for him to seek a deal with prosecutors given a general election is scheduled to take place before the end of May.
“It has always been logical that there can be negotiations between Mr Zuma’s lawyers and the NPA on the legal matters,” Mr Niehaus told reporters. “We believe very strongly that a legal solution should be found on the understanding that this case has been dragging on for so long, that Mr Zuma had been tried by the media.”
However, South Africa’s interim president Kgalema Motlanthe told the Mail and Guardian newspaper yesterday Mr Zuma would remain the party’s presidential candidate regardless of the court’s decision.
“So as far as the ANC is concerned, if the Nicholson [the high court judge who dismissed the charges in September] judgment is overturned, whatever happens thereafter must run its course, even if he is charged. He remains the ANC’s contender for presidency of the country in this year’s elections,” said Mr Motlanthe.
If the ruling goes against Mr Zuma and a NPA deal fails to materialise, the ANC leader is likely to appeal the former outcome to the constitutional court.