Media speculation has it that President Jacob Zuma is to pardon apartheid hit-squad commander Eugene de Kock, as well as his friend and formal financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, this year, writes Legalbrief.

The speculation is fuelled by news that the Zuma visited De Kock in prison last year and that the President wants 2010 to be a year of reconciliation. The De Kock meeting took place on 11 April at Pretoria Central Prison, just five days after all charges of corruption and fraud against Zuma were dropped, paving his way to become President. A report in the Sunday Tribune says details of the meeting came to light amid heightened speculation that the former Vlakplaas chief may be granted a presidential pardon along with a range of other applicants, including former ANC foes and Shaik. In return for a pardon, De Kock has made it clear he is prepared to co-operate in helping with any new investigations into apartheid-era atrocities, including the recovery of bodies of victims of the security forces. He was sentenced in 1996 to two life terms and 212 years on 89 criminal charges, including murder, conspiracy to murder and fraud.
Full Sunday Tribune report (subscription needed)


The DA, though, says neither De Kock nor Shaik should be pardoned. James Selfe said it would be wrong for Zuma to use the De Kock pardon application to pardon Shaik, notes a report in The Times. 'Granting a presidential pardon should not be a political game. It must be an exercise based on the interests of society. 'Neither De Kock nor Shaik deserve a presidential pardon,' Selfe is quoted as saying. The Presidency, meanwhile has 'denied any knowledge' of the possible granting of the pardon, according to Business Day.
Full report in The Times


Shaik's pardon application rests on the same argument that eventually stymied the prosecutorial challenge against Zuma. This, says a Sunday Tribune report, is the gist of supplementary documents filed in support of Shaik's application for a pardon. In December, his legal team sent papers to the President's office which claim Shaik was also a victim of the conspiracy to thwart Zuma's political ambitions. Shaik's application reportedly says, among other things, that he refused to cut a deal with prosecutors in return for his testimony against Zuma. The application also draws on the National Intelligence Agency tapes that resulted in corruption charges being dropped against Zuma.
Full Sunday Tribune report