Former South African president Jacob Zuma yesterday appeared in court on corruption charges over a multibillion-dollar 1990s arms deal, with the judge adjourning the case after a 15 minute hearing.
Zuma, 75, smiled broadly and gave a thumbs-up as he walked into the Durban High Court building to take his seat in the dock just seven weeks after he was forced to resign from office.
“This matter is adjourned until June 8,” judge Themba Sishi said after being addressed by lawyers from both sides who confirmed that Zuma would appeal against the decision to prosecute him.
Photo: Reuters
Zuma told thousands of supporters outside the court that his opponents were telling lies and he would be proven innocent.
Speaking in Zulu, Zuma said that the judiciary and politicians believed that he did not have rights.
“The truth will come out. What have I done?” Zuma said. “I am innocent until proven guilty.”
Several hundred vocal Zuma supporters rallied outside to protest against his prosecution, which could see him sent to jail if he is found guilty on 16 charges of corruption, money laundering and fraud.
“He might have made his own mistakes, but we say allow the old man to retire in peace. It is a conspiracy, it’s politically motivated,” said Zuma supporter and business manager Sphelele Ngwane, 29.
On Thursday night more than 100 ardent backers rallied in Albert Park in a gritty suburb of Durban to protest his innocence and demand a halt to the prosecution.
“There is an unfairness in the judiciary,” said Bishop Timothy Ngcobo, one of the organizers of Thursday’s gathering.
The protesters sang liberation-era songs including Umshini Wami, meaning “Bring Me My Machine Gun,” which Zuma often sang at African National Congress (ANC) rallies and gatherings.
Police yesterday mounted a large security operation outside the court, but the occasion remained peaceful.
Zuma is accused of taking bribes from French arms maker Thales Group over a contract worth several billion US dollars during his time as a provincial minister of the economy and then deputy ANC president.
Thales, which supplied naval vessels as part of the deal, also faces charges with corruption and a company representative appeared in court alongside Zuma.
Zuma is accused of illicitly pocketing a total of 4,072,499.85 rands (US$337,447 at the current exchange rate) from 783 payments handled by Schabir Shaik, a businessman who acted as his financial adviser.
Zuma, who came to power as South African president shortly after the charges were first dropped in 2009, has always denied any wrongdoing.
Shaik was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2005 based on the same accusations, but a much-criticized 2016 inquiry absolved Zuma of any blame.
Zuma said that the inquiry proved that “not a single iota of evidence [shows] that any of the money received by any of the consultants was paid to any officials.”
Last month, prosecutions chief Shaun Abrahams — dubbed “Shaun the Sheep” for his loyalty to Zuma during his presidency — ordered that Zuma be charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering.
The ANC forced Zuma from office in February largely due to his mounting legal challenges.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese