Court delays Ex-South African leader, Zuma, case to Feb 4
Court proceedings for former South African President Jacob Zuma were pushed back to February 4 on Tuesday as his legal team said it would appeal against an earlier court ruling that dismissed his attempt to halt prosecution on corruption charges.
Former President Jacob Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering related to 1990s arms deal.
Zuma faces charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering related to a 1999 arms deal. He is accused of receiving bribes from French arms manufacturer Thales through his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik, who was convicted of fraud and corruption in 2005.
He is alleged to have profited four million rand ($270,000) from the kickbacks.
His legal team has until the end of this month to appeal last week’s High Court ruling, which found that the allegations against him were serious.
The former president, who denies wrongdoing, has argued that the case has been prejudiced by long delays and that there has been political interference in his prosecution.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party forced him to resign as president last year after a nine-year reign marred by corruption allegations and diminishing popularity.
Zuma has also been accused of overseeing the mass looting of state assets during his nine-year presidency.
High on the list of alleged benefactors is the wealthy Indian-born Gupta business family, who were accused of unfairly obtaining lucrative government contracts and even influencing Zuma’s ministerial appointments.
