President Jacob Zuma has until Wednesday to make new representations to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) about why he should not be prosecuted for fraud and corruption, Business Day reported. Zuma was supposed to make representations by the end of November, after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the 2009 decision to drop the charges against him was unlawful.
NPA head Shaun Abrahams granted Zuma's request to make fresh representations, and Zuma's lawyers asked for an extension until the end of January. The charges relate to the 1999 arms deal and allegations of kickbacks received by Zuma.
His representations are likely to hinge on the credibility of the KPMG report that was used to charge him in the first place, Business Day reported.
According to eNCA, Zuma previously argued that pursuing the case against him could cause instability in the country, and that most South Africans still believe he was treated unfairly.
In a separate but related case, in which the appointment of Abrahams was ruled unlawful, the head of the NPA has denied dragging his feet on reinstating the charges against Zuma. He reportedly said that he had informed Zuma's lawyer that all 218 people on the witness list before the charges were withdrawn in 2009 had been located and were willing to testify.
Eyewitness News reported that Abrahams had appointed a team of five advocates to advise him on whether or not to proceed with the case against Zuma. The team is led by Advocate Moipone Noko from KwaZulu-Natal and includes Advocate Billy Downer, who was part of the original prosecution team working on Zuma's case.