Penwell Dlamini and Ido lekota

Penwell Dlamini and Ido lekota

Former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa could not remember his conversations on alleged recordings conspiring against Jacob Zuma.

"I don't know if it's me because I don't have that transcript," Shilowa said yesterday.

Shilowa, now Cope's deputy leader, was responding to whether he was the "Sam" mentioned in the alleged conspiracy against the ANC president by former senior members of the National Prosecution Authority - Bulelani Ngcuka and Leonard McCarthy.

On Monday the acting head of the NPA, Mokotedi Mpshe, fingered his predecessor Ngcuka and former head of the Scorpions McCarthy as having interfered with Zuma's prosecution - apparently to give former ANC president Thabo Mbeki political support in his tussle for the ANC presidency.

Mpshe read to the media transcripts of telephone conversations between Ngcuka and McCarthy, wherein they discussed how to manipulate the timing of bringing charges against Zuma.

According to the transcripts, Ngcuka was not in favour of Zuma being charged before the ANC's Polokwane conference in 2007. McCarthy, on the other hand, thought otherwise. The transcripts also revealed that "Sam" - believed to be Shilowa - and business mogul Mzi Khumalo wanted Zuma to be charged before Polokwane. The two are known to be ardent Mbeki supporters.

Yesterday Shilowa told Sowetan that he did not know if the "Sam" mentioned in the transcripts was him.

"I have never had any conversation with McCarthy or got involved in the NPA's work."

Meanwhile, McCarthy has laid the blame about the decision to re-charge Zuma after the Polokwane conference on Mpshe's lap.

"The decision whether to charge, on what counts and when, was taken by you and Thanda Mngwengwe (a Scorpions director)," McCarthy wrote to Mpshe.

On Tuesday Ngcuka also denied having interfered with Zuma's prosecution.

"I have not been party to any conspiracy to frustrate the political ambition of Mr Zuma to ascend the highest office in the land," he said.