(Add details, comment from president’s office)
By Jon Herskovitz
JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) – South Africa’s main
opposition party won the right on Tuesday to review potentially
damaging documents from a discontinued corruption case against
President Jacob Zuma in 2009, a move that could hurt Zu m a’s
chances of re-election as ANC leader.
The president, who seeks re-election as African National
Congress (ANC) leader late this year, had been expected to win
easily, virtually securing him another five-year term in office
as president because of the party’s dominance over politics.
Tuesday’s court ruling allows the main opposition Democratic
Alliance (DA) access to papers from a case against Zuma over a
tainted arms deal, which was dropped by prosecutors just weeks
before a presidential election in 2009, clearing the way for him
to win the race.
The Supreme Court of Appeal said in its ruling on Tuesday
that it was “in the public interest” to allow the DA access to
the papers from the case.
The South African Presidency said in a statement it was
studying the ruling, noting the “decision not to prosecute
stands”.
It is not known what is contained in the documents or how
much of the documents the opposition would be allowed to see.
The DA has been eating into the ANC’s dominance but trailed the
party by about 40 percentage points in the last nationwide
election in 2011.
Zuma could be damaged if the documents contain evidence of
criminality, especially since he has said stamping out
corruption is one of his top priorities.
Continued…
