Guardian, Zuma did not talk

Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma has not had an interview with British newspaper The Guardian on the Oscar Pistorius trial or any other matter this week, the Presidency said on Tuesday.

"A Guardian reporter created an impression that he may have had an exclusive interview with the President on the Pistorius trial," said spokesperson Mac Maharaj.

He said the journalist reported on a matter raised during the informal networking session as part of the media freedom luncheon on Sunday.

The Guardian reported that Zuma had criticised Oscar Pistorius’s defence team for arguing the paralympian should be spared prison because he was disabled and “had money”.

Pistorius’s lawyers called expert witnesses last week to testify that South African jails were ill-equipped to accommodate disabled people because, for example, the showers lacked handrails.