Zuma to avoid prison if he tells all on Guptas: report
President Jacob Zuma could reportedly avoid prosecution on charges of state capture if he admits criminal wrongdoing, and enters into a deal with the state against the Gupta family.
According to a report by the Sunday Times, the prospect of a plea bargain is part of an exit package being secretly negotiated between ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and Zuma.
However the deal has been delayed due to the costs and complexities involved, and the fact that South African law does not accommodate for political deals for criminal prosecutions, the report said.
The deal would require Zuma to disclose any and all criminal acts, and would also require him to name others who were involved or complicit in the acts.
This is expected to include members of the Gupta family, and potentially his own son Duduzane who is believed to have a number of ties with the Gupta family.
Under the regulations of the Criminal Procedure Act, Zuma must first be formally charged in the state capture investigation, the court must officially grant him approval to enter into a plea bargain, and if he is found to have lied, the plea bargain can be overturned.
The deal would only be applicable to the state-capture investigations and not Zuma’s pending corruption charges in relation to the Schabir Shaik case.
Another option Ramaphosa is allegedly presenting to Zuma is for him to testify at the parliamentary hearings on state capture, the report said.
A person who provides full disclosure of criminal activity to parliament under oath could be indemnified from prosecution on the basis of the evidence they give.
The person could still be prosecuted on the basis of other evidence collected by the police or prosecuting authority, but not for anything they admit to under oath.
This would require Zuma to give evidence in parliament before the Guptas or his son Duduzane – who could implicate him.
You can read the full story in today’s Sunday Times.
Read: Expect news on Zuma’s resignation early next week: Mbete
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