South Africa’s Ex-Leader Zuma Seeks Further Delay In Corruption Trial

(Reuters) – Former South African president Jacob Zuma, whose
jailing earlier this month triggered some of the worst unrest of
the post-apartheid era, appeared by video link in court on Monday
to seek a further delay in his corruption trial.

While the government has largely restored order in the streets,
there were fears Zuma’s latest court appearance could again trigger
violent protests from his support base. But they did not
immediately materialise.

Efforts to prosecute the ex-president for allegedly receiving
kickbacks over a $2 billion weapons deal in the late 1990s have
been seen as a test of South Africa’s ability to hold powerful
politicians to account.

Zuma, who has pleaded not guilty to charges including
corruption, fraud and money laundering, has evaded prosecution for
more than a decade by casting himself as the victim of a
politically motivated witch-hunt.

Wearing a dark suit and red tie, Zuma, 79, said nothing while
one of his lawyers Dali Mpofu argued that the trial should be
postponed for Zuma to appear in person as opposed to virtually.

Local television channel Newzroom Afrika showed armoured
military vehicles stationed outside the high court in
Pietermaritzburg, one of the places worst-affected by the recent
unrest.

Mpofu said Zuma had not been able to properly consult his legal
team after handing himself over in the early hours of July 8 to
start a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. He asked
for a postponement of up to three weeks, by which time he said he
expected the constitutional court to have made a ruling on Zuma’s
application to rescind his jail term.

‘STALINGRAD DEFENCE’

A lawyer for the state argued that the application for a
postponement was nothing more than a delaying tactic.

“This application is Stalingrad season 27,” Wim Trengove said,
referring to Zuma’s method of fighting his prosecution via every
legal means possible – a strategy that has become known locally as
his “Stalingrad defence”.

The judge adjourned proceedings until 10 a.m. local time (0800
GMT) on Tuesday.

The constitutional court sentenced Zuma to prison last month for
defying an order to appear at an inquiry into high-level corruption
during his nine years in power until 2018.

Zuma denies there was far-reaching corruption under his
leadership but has refused to cooperate with the inquiry.

One of the main allegations it is testing is that Zuma allowed
three Indian-born businessmen, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to
plunder state resources and traffic influence over government
policy.

The Guptas, who fled South Africa after Zuma was ousted, also
deny wrongdoing.

More than 200 people have been killed and hundreds of businesses
destroyed in the riots following Zuma’s imprisonment.

Protests initially flared in Zuma’s home province KwaZulu-Natal
before escalating into arson and looting in other provinces,
fuelled by anger over the poverty and inequality that persist
nearly three decades after the end of white minority rule in
1994.

Zuma’s successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, authorised the
deployment of 25,000 soldiers to quell the unrest, and more than
2,500 people have been arrested.

(Reuters) – Former South African president Jacob Zuma, whose
jailing earlier this month triggered some of the worst unrest of
the post-apartheid era, appeared by video link in court on Monday
to seek a further delay in his corruption trial.

While the government has largely restored order in the streets,
there were fears Zuma’s latest court appearance could again trigger
violent protests from his support base. But they did not
immediately materialise.

Efforts to prosecute the ex-president for allegedly receiving
kickbacks over a $2 billion weapons deal in the late 1990s have
been seen as a test of South Africa’s ability to hold powerful
politicians to account.

Zuma, who has pleaded not guilty to charges including
corruption, fraud and money laundering, has evaded prosecution for
more than a decade by casting himself as the victim of a
politically motivated witch-hunt.

Wearing a dark suit and red tie, Zuma, 79, said nothing while
one of his lawyers Dali Mpofu argued that the trial should be
postponed for Zuma to appear in person as opposed to virtually.

Local television channel Newzroom Afrika showed armoured
military vehicles stationed outside the high court in
Pietermaritzburg, one of the places worst-affected by the recent
unrest.

Mpofu said Zuma had not been able to properly consult his legal
team after handing himself over in the early hours of July 8 to
start a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. He asked
for a postponement of up to three weeks, by which time he said he
expected the constitutional court to have made a ruling on Zuma’s
application to rescind his jail term.

‘STALINGRAD DEFENCE’

A lawyer for the state argued that the application for a
postponement was nothing more than a delaying tactic.

“This application is Stalingrad season 27,” Wim Trengove said,
referring to Zuma’s method of fighting his prosecution via every
legal means possible – a strategy that has become known locally as
his “Stalingrad defence”.

The judge adjourned proceedings until 10 a.m. local time (0800
GMT) on Tuesday.

The constitutional court sentenced Zuma to prison last month for
defying an order to appear at an inquiry into high-level corruption
during his nine years in power until 2018.

Zuma denies there was far-reaching corruption under his
leadership but has refused to cooperate with the inquiry.

One of the main allegations it is testing is that Zuma allowed
three Indian-born businessmen, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to
plunder state resources and traffic influence over government
policy.

The Guptas, who fled South Africa after Zuma was ousted, also
deny wrongdoing.

More than 200 people have been killed and hundreds of businesses
destroyed in the riots following Zuma’s imprisonment.

Protests initially flared in Zuma’s home province KwaZulu-Natal
before escalating into arson and looting in other provinces,
fuelled by anger over the poverty and inequality that persist
nearly three decades after the end of white minority rule in
1994.

Zuma’s successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, authorised the
deployment of 25,000 soldiers to quell the unrest, and more than
2,500 people have been arrested.