Kingdom Mabuza and Waghied Misbach

Kingdom Mabuza and Waghied Misbach

The ANC Youth League has lashed out at Judge Hilary Squires and the five appeal court judges who upheld Schabir Shaik's conviction.

This comes after Squires distanced himself from a phrase attributed to him that Jacob Zuma "had a generally corrupt relationship" with Schabir Shaik.

The appeal court dismissed Shaik's appeal on grounds that Squires found him guilty and that he had had "a general corrupt relationship with Zuma".

Speaking to journalists in Johannesburg yesterday, Mbalula said: "Zuma cannot have a fair trial when judges of the appeal court, are hallucinating . and Squires judgment is littered with implications that Schabir Shaik did not act alone."

He said Squires "woke up on a Friday after 17 months to tell us that he never said there was a generally corrupt relationship between Zuma and Shaik".

Squires remained mum on the political storm that has erupted since he denied using the words "generally corrupt" to describe the relationship between Shaik and Zuma.

He refused to talk about the "rumpus" when contacted by Sowetan yesterday.

"No, enough has been said already," he said.

Squires said that a "mutually beneficial symbiosis" existed between Shaik and Zuma. It was the state prosecutor who used the phrase "generally corrupt".

The supreme court of appeal's five judges have since apologised for their "mis-attribution".

But Zuma supporters in Cosatu, the ANCYL and the SACP have claimed this proves the judges are biased and have been influenced by the media.