The Mauritian government has refused to assist African National Congress president Jacob Zuma in his case before its court, the SABC reported on Thursday.

Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam told media that assisting Zuma would undermine the independence of the judiciary in his country.

Zuma has appealed to the Mauritian Supreme Court to stop South African authorities from obtaining documents held in Mauritius relating to his corruption case.

Ramgoolam said there had not yet been such a request but that he had explained the judicial system to Zuma. He confirmed that he had met Zuma last month."We can't even assist him, even had he asked. "He came to see me, to call on me when he was here in Mauritius to say, just to tell me... what he was doing, that he wanted to challenge
in court and I explained to him that in Mauritius we have a very independent judiciary, that he has to go through the court system and the courts will decide, nothing more than that," Ramgoolam told the SABC.

Zuma's attempt to have search and seizure raids and a letter requesting documents from Mauritius ruled invalid was to enter a third day in the Constitutional Court, in Johannesburg, on Thursday.