Former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Head Vusi Pikoli says the charges against former President Jacob Zuma should never have been dropped, because it was always a watertight case.
Current NPA chief Shaun Abrahams on Friday announced that the corruption and other charges, relating to the 1990s arms deal would be re-instated. The charges include one count of racketeering, two counts of corruption, one count of money laundering and 12 counts of fraud.
In 2009, the then acting NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe dropped the charges, citing manipulation of processes by senior prosecutors.
Pikoli has now referred to the earlier conviction of Schabir Shaik, who was Zuma’s financial adviser at the time of the arms deal: “It was a no brainer for me, given the conviction of Shabir Shaik, and the number of times he appeared on that charge sheet. So it became clear that he had to be charged. This was supported by the evidence which was there at the time, even when the charges were dropped they were not dropped on the merits of the case.”
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