Lawyers of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who was in power from 2009 to 2018, argued that he was “too ill” to attend his corruption trial on Tuesday. However, the court rejected his lawyers’ argument and questioned the credibility of the sick note provided. An arrest warrant has been issued for Zuma, but it will not come into effect until May 6, when he is next scheduled to appear in court to resume his corruption trial.
He was charged with 18 counts of corruption in 2018 by the South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The charges are connected to 783 “questionable” payments he allegedly received as part of a 1999 multi-billion rand arms deal when he was the deputy president. Among the charges are 1 count of racketeering, 2 counts of money laundering, and 12 counts of fraud.
Zuma is accused of taking bribes from French arms manufacturer Thales through his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik, who himself was convicted of fraud and corruption in 2005. Zuma was previously investigated for the same case, but the charges were dropped before he took office in 2009.
Zuma resigned in 2018 under public pressure and unrest in the ruling African National Congress due to mismanagement and corruption that severely undermined the financial stability of state-owned companies. His successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, continues to deal with the economic fallout from Zuma’s presidency, which has cost the economy billions of dollars.
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