Shaik, still serving parole as part of a 15-year prison sentence, said the charges against him, and possibly Zuma now, had been part of a concerted political attack.
He portrayed Zuma and himself as fall guys, and said he was ready to testify if Zuma was brought to court.
“There has been a well-planned strategy to discredit the president and myself by certain members within our organisation, the ANC, ever since Zuma stepped into office.
“I have always stated that President Zuma was never involved in the arms procurement deal or influenced any company, including my own, to win or lose any tender.
“This was simply not his role and function in government at that time and I am prepared to stand before any court to reiterate this.”
Shaik said in an interview the Seriti Commission (which found no corruption in the arms deals) finally confirmed what he had been saying for 10 years.
“Truth always surfaces in the end, no matter how long it takes. I lost almost 10 years of my life for nothing, simply because good men chose to remain silent about the facts they were well aware of,” Shaik told the Daily News.
His response came in the wake of a Pretoria High Court ruling which set aside a 2009 decision by former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) acting head, Mokotedi Mpshe, to discontinue Zuma’s prosecution.
He withdraw 783 charges against Zuma over his involvement in the multibillion-rand arms deal.
The court found the decision irrational.
Shaik is still on medical parole after being found guilty in 2006 of corruption and fraud, then released on parole after two years and four months in prison.
Despite his conviction, and the Supreme Court of Appeal’s agreement with it, Shaik continues to maintain his innocence. He also welcomed last week’s high court ruling.
“Zuma became the fall guy even before he stepped into the president’s office, when he was accused of seeking a bribe from Thales, my partners in the defence business at the time,” Shaik said.
“This was despite the fact that Thales provided an affidavit denying any claims that Zuma requested funds for his house in Nkandla or for any other personal use other than the Jacob Zuma Education Trust Fund.
“Despite Thales’s and my own statements and evidence before the court, the agenda to malign Zuma was pushed.
“There are those in the ANC who are well aware of this. I am not here to defend Zuma or to fight his battles for him, he has certainly not fought mine.
“But despite my anger and disappointment at this over the years, I have always and will always stand by the facts, and that is, that Zuma had never personally benefited from the arms deal.
“I welcome the fact that his day in court may finally be a reality and that I will be called on to testify and expand on my statement so that the country can once and for all hear the truth,” added Shaik.
He claimed also that former president Thabo Mbeki’s assertion that the Seriti Commission was no whitewash, and his subsequent remarks, supported their innocence.
After the high court ruling on Friday, opposition parties and a groundswell of civic groups and individuals have called on the NPA to reinstate charges against Zuma.
The ANC has insisted that the ruling was no finding of guilt against Zuma.
It had not dealt with the merits of the allegations, and was merely a review of an administrative action by the NPA.
Shaik said he was awaiting the NPA decision before considering his next move.
The NPA, in turn, said it was still studying the court ruling before deciding on what steps to take.
