Former South African president Jacob Zuma will face trial
on corruption charges after a court dismissed his application to halt the case
for good.
The ruling by Judge Jerome Mnguni in the Pietermaritzburg
High Court paves way for Mr Zuma's trial to start on October 15.
It also means there will be further scrutiny of a 1999 arms
deal in which Mr Zuma is accused of receiving bribes from French arms
manufacturer Thales.
The charges were raised more than a decade ago, then
withdrawn, then reinstated after the National Prosecuting Authority announced
there were sufficient grounds to bring Mr Zuma to trial.
Mr Zuma was president from 2009 to 2018, when he was forced
to resign by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party amid separate
allegations of corruption linked to the controversial Gupta family.
The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions
against three Gupta family members.
Mr Zuma's legal team argued his court case had been
prejudiced by long delays and there was political interference in his
prosecution. The 77-year-old has denied wrongdoing and can appeal Friday's
ruling.
While previously claiming he was the victim of a
politically motivated witch hunt, he made no public statements after the
decision was handed down on Friday, slipping out quietly instead of addressing
a crowd of supporters as in past court appearances.
His successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has vowed to
crack down on the widespread politcal corruption that has eroded support for
the ANC, which has ruled the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.
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