South Africa’s ex-president Zuma to be tried for corruption: court
The corruption trial of former South African former President Jacob Zuma will hold, following a court decision to deny him a permanent stay of persecution.
The Friday ruling by Judge Jerome Mnguni in the Pietermaritzburg High Court paves way for Zuma’s trial on corruption charges relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal to start on Oct. 15.
Zuma, who was in office from 2009-2018, had applied for a permanent stay of prosecution from 16 charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to a deal to buy 30 billion rand of European military hardware for South Africa’s armed forces in the late 1990s.
The 77-year-old has denied any wrongdoing and has said he is the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.
The charges against Zuma were originally filed a decade ago but then set aside by the National Prosecuting Authority shortly before he successfully ran for president in 2009.
After his election, his opponents fought a lengthy legal battle to have the charges reinstated, finally succeeding in 2016. Zuma countered with his own legal challenges.
REUTERS
Discover more from Africa Global Village
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
