The trial of Zuma, 79, had been expected to begin on Monday
but was delayed again after his newly appointed defence team raised concerns
over the lead prosecutor and said it might seek his recusal from the case.
Zuma’s defence lawyer Thabani Masuku told the
Pietermaritzburg High Court that a plea of not guilty would be entered when the
court next hears the case on May 26.
The case takes place as an anti-corruption crackdown led by
his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, gathers pace and the governing
African National Congress (ANC) is beset with infighting as top officials
accused of corruption fight back.
The bespectacled Zuma, dressed in a blue suit and tie,
looked relaxed in court and gave the thumbs up and waved to supporters. Among
those in court was suspended ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule, a Zuma
loyalist, while a crowd of supporters waving the green, gold and black ANC flag
sang Zuma’s praises outside the court.
Sacked as deputy state president in 2005 after his former
financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was jailed for corruption in the same arms
deal, Zuma swiftly regained political power and spent almost 10 years as
president before a judge reinstated the case in 2018.
Zuma is accused of accepting 500,000 rands ($35,000)
annually from Thales from 1999 as a bribe, in exchange for protecting the
company from an investigation into the deal following whistle-blower
revelations by a lawmaker in parliament that same year.
The alleged bribe forms part of a broader corrupt
relationship the state argues existed between Zuma, Shaik and his firm Nkobi
Group, as well as Thales. Nkobi Group was the local joint venture partner to
Thales, then known as Thompson-CSF, which was part of a consortium that won a
2.6 billion rands bid to provide combat suites for new navy frigates.
Zuma, who was acquitted of a 2005 rape charge where he
admitted having unprotected sex with his HIV-positive accuser, currently faces
18 charges, including racketeering, corruption and fraud. Zuma, who has said
the arms deal case is politically motivated, and Thales have consistently
denied any wrongdoing.
The case has been postponed numerous times as Zuma, who has
described the trial as a “political witch-hunt”, lodged a string of motions to
have the charges dropped. Last month, all of Zuma’s lawyers quit without
explanation.
He struck a defiant note after Monday’s postponement,
telling supporters outside the court: “If I were to reveal the things I know
about other people, it would be a disaster.”
“You can’t have a case for so many years. That the charges
keep changing and changing. But I don’t want to say too much, we will say what
we have to say in court,” Zuma said, before leading supporters in singing his
trademark Umshini Wam (bring my machinegun) anti-apartheid struggle song.
The trial is expected to last from May until June, the
court has said previously, with more than 200 witnesses lined up for the state.
Aljazeera
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