Former South African President Jacob Zuma will go on trial in April for alleged corruption in connection with a multi-billion-dollar arms deal from 1999. Zuma is accused of taking bribes from French arms company Thales and a subcontractor in the deal. This scandal has been one of the biggest political issues in South Africa, with Zuma pleading not guilty to the charges at a hearing in 2021. However, the trial has been delayed due to appeals launched by Zuma, who alleged bias from the judge and prosecutor in the case.
The trial is now set to begin on April 14 next year, with a pre-trial hearing in August. Thales, the co-defendant in the case, has also pleaded not guilty. The charges against Zuma relate to a period between 1995 and 2005, before he became president. During this time, he was an influential politician who allegedly received bribes in return for political protection for the arms deal. Zuma was fired as deputy president in 2005 after his financial adviser, who was connected to the bribes, was convicted of corruption.
Zuma was served with a preliminary indictment in 2005, but the charges were dropped and reinstated multiple times over the years. Despite the corruption allegations, Zuma made a political comeback and became president of South Africa in 2009. He later resigned in 2018 due to separate corruption allegations. If Zuma is convicted in the arms deal trial, he faces a possible sentence of between 15 years and life in prison. The 82-year-old already served part of a 15-month prison sentence in 2021 for refusing to testify in a corruption inquiry unrelated to his trial.
After his release, Zuma made another political comeback as the leader of a new political party and is involved in a court case disputing his eligibility to run as a candidate in a national election this month. The national election body has deemed him ineligible due to his criminal conviction for contempt of court. Despite these legal challenges, Zuma remains a significant figure in South African politics and has faced criticism from various quarters for his alleged involvement in corruption scandals. It remains to be seen how the upcoming trial will unfold and what impact it will have on Zuma’s political future.
