Prosecutor says he may charge Zuma
POLOKWANE, South Africa -- South Africa's top prosecutor said Thursday he has enough evidence to bring corruption charges against new African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma, a case that could derail his election as the country's next president. Zuma responded: "Take me to court."
The possibility Zuma could face trial upstaged his first public speech since he defeated President Thabo Mbeki in a bitter ANC leadership contest Tuesday.
Public prosecutor Mokotedi Mpshe told The Associated Press he would announce in the new year the next step in the investigation against Zuma.
"The type of evidence we have so far can be taken to court," he said.
Mpshe is investigating allegations that in the 1990s, Zuma accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from the French company Thint to stop investigations into a multibillion-dollar arms deal with the government. The contracts were suspected of being secured through bribes.
Mbeki fired Zuma as the country's deputy president in 2005 after Zuma's financial adviser was convicted of trying to elicit the bribe. Charges against Zuma were thrown out last year on a technicality. He denies the charges and says prosecutors trying to smear his name for political reasons.
At a news conference, Zuma complained he was being tried in the media.
"There was an investigation which was conducted publicly against me, I was threatened to be charged in public, there were things said about me by those investigating," he said. "My problem was, 'Why are these things being said in public?' If I have a case to answer, then take me to court."
The ANC leader is traditionally the party's presidential candidate, and its overwhelming backing has ensured victories first for Nelson Mandela in 1994, then Mbeki in 1999 and 2004. The constitution requires Mbeki stand down in 2009, but if he had won a third term as ANC leader, he would have been in a position to influence the choice of a successor.
In a speech to the ANC congress earlier, Zuma sought to allay concerns of a potential conflict with Mbeki, promising to work well with the president. Zuma's victory meant that for the first time since apartheid ended, the ANC leader was not South Africa's president or his hand-picked successor.
Deviating from his prepared speech to heap praise on Mbeki, Zuma promised to "develop smooth working relations" with the president, calling him a "comrade, friend and brother" of 30 years.
"Contesting positions among comrades does not make us enemies," he said, looking directly at Mbeki, who sat in the front row of delegates in the hall, for the first time in decades not at center stage at a party meeting.
Zuma also addressed fears that he would veer sharply to the left under pressure from trade unions, poor blacks and communists who backed his leadership bid. Zuma had rallied ANC members dissatisfied with Mbeki's market-oriented policies, which have brought steady economic growth but failed to lift the majority from poverty.
"There is no reason why the domestic or international community or any other sector should be uneasy," Zuma said. "ANC policies, including economic policies that have been adopted at this conference, do not indicate a fundamental shift."
Zuma also praised Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who is well respected by the international business community and whose possible departure has raised concerns. "I think he has a track record that is very good in addressing the issue of fiscal discipline," Zuma said.
The possibility Zuma would be charged with corruption had hovered over the ANC congress since it opened Sunday, but his supporters insisted he was innocent and the target of a political smear campaign.
Last year, Zuma was acquitted of raping a family friend. He outraged AIDS activists by testifying that he had unprotected, consensual sex with the HIV-positive woman and then took a shower in the belief that it would protect him from the AIDS virus.
During his campaign, Zuma called for AIDS and crime to be "treated as national emergencies," something many South Africans have criticized Mbeki for not doing.
He also expressed support for Mbeki's pursuit of "quite diplomacy" with Zimbabwe, even though he had challenged the policy as early as last week.
Critics have called on South African to be more forceful against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is accused of ruining his country's economy, undermining democracy and threatening regional stability.
But Zuma said quiet diplomacy had brought Zimbabwe's government and opposition into talks and was producing agreement on constitutional changes, while countries that imposed targeted sanctions had nothing to show for them.
"Our quiet diplomacy, we are confident with it and we are going to continue with it," he said.