Former President Jacob Zuma will finally have his day in court when his corruption trial returns to the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) tomorrow – 20 years after he was first charged with arms deal corruption.

Proceedings are expected to be broadcast live.

In May, Judge Nkosinathi Chili confirmed that KZN High Court Judge President Thoba Portia Poyo-Dlwati had allocated dates from April to September 2025 for Zuma’s trial.

Zuma was declared trial-ready three years ago, but the matter has been delayed by his repeated appeals and efforts to force the removal of State Advocate Billy Downer SC from the matter.

At the time, NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said the state hoped there would be no further delays in the case, but it can never rule out the possibility of Zuma ‘mounting another hurdle’.

‘It has been a trend, it’s on record, even by Judge (Piet) Koen that this appears to be a delaying tactic on their part.’

The Citizen reports that Mhaga said legal recourse does not allow Zuma to appeal the dismissal and that the state is ready to proceed with the trial.

‘It does not in the sense that the judgment itself is not dispositive of the matter. They can still deal with this matter at the end of the trial, but let them allow Mr Zuma to have his day in court. He’s been pleading publicly that he wants his day in court so that he can prove his innocence,’ Mhaga said.

The state in court papers said it is adamant Zuma’s appeals are ‘manifestly an abuse of court process’ and yet another manifestation of his ‘Stalingrad defence strategy’ that it contends has ‘the improper intent and purpose of delaying justice in this matter, as evidenced by successive litigation since 2005 aimed at postponing this trial’.

‘This prosecution has endured delays exceeding 15 years,’ the state said.

The Citizen notes that Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thales are facing multiple charges, including fraud‚ corruption, money laundering, and racketeering, in connection with the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal procurement concluded in the late 1990s while Zuma was Vice-President.

It is the state’s case that Zuma was kept on a corrupt retainer by his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, who then used his political clout to further his own business interests.

Full report in The Citizen