Jacob Zuma’s application for leave to appeal against the decision that he should be prosecuted on charges of corruption, fraud, and robbery was rejected.
This comes after Zuma’s application – that his prosecution be stopped – was unanimously rejected in October, with costs. The same goes for his co-accused, the arms dealer Thales.
However, Zuma’s legal team has decided to submit an application to appeal this decision. The application was heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on November 22. Zuma’s legal team argued that the court made “gross errors of fact and law” by rejecting Zuma’s application.
However, Zuma’s application for leave to appeal was dismissed on Friday, which means he will still face numerous charges.
The case is related to the arms deal of the 1990s. The state claims Thales bribed Zuma, via his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik, to protect the company from an investigation.
Shaik was convicted in 2005 of two charges of corruption and one of fraud. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was later released on medical parole.
Adv. David Breytenbach SC argued on behalf of the state that the court found that the state and Zuma were equally responsible for delaying Zuma’s trial for so long. Breytenbach said no other court would be able to make the finding that only the state’s actions led to the postponement of the trial.
The state’s case was brought by Breytenbach after Zuma’s lawyer, Adv. Muzi Sikhakhane SC, who argued that Zuma was being harmed by the trial.
