ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Corruption trial delayed against South Africa's ex-president

Former South African President Jacob Zuma at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Jerome Delay / AP) Former South African President Jacob Zuma at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Jerome Delay / AP)
Share
JOHANNESBURG -

The corruption trial in South Africa of former President Jacob Zuma has been postponed again on Monday pending the outcome of the ex-leader's appeal to get the state prosecutor removed from his case.

Zuma was not present in the Pietermaritzburg High Court due to a "medical emergency," his lawyer Dali Mpofu told the court.

His legal representatives requested that the start of the trial be postponed until the Supreme Court of Appeal decides on Zuma's effort to have state prosecutor Billy Downer removed from the case. Zuma accuses Downer of bias against the ex-leader.

The case is set to resume on May 17.

The delay is the latest of many as it has been nearly 17 years since Zuma was first charged with corruption, fraud and money laundering related to South Africa's controversial 1999 arms deal.

He is charged alongside French arms manufacturer Thales, which is accused of paying bribes to Zuma through his former financial advisor Schabir Shaik, who was convicted on related charges in 2005.

South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority opposed the application for the postponement, accusing Zuma of delaying tactics to prevent the start of the trial.

While Zuma has publicly said he wants his day in court, he has over the years launched numerous legal actions that have delayed the start of the trial.

Delivering his judgment on Monday, High Court Judge Piet Koen said while the delay of the trial could lead to frustrations, the current delay was unavoidable as the court had to await the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision.

Zuma, 79, is currently on medical parole on a 15-month prison sentence following his conviction last year of contempt of court for defying a Constitutional Court order to appear before a judicial commission investigating corruption during his presidential term from 2009 to 2018.

Zuma was imprisoned in July last year which set off days of rioting in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces in which shops, warehouses and factories were looted and many burned. More than 300 people died in the unrest.

About three months later Zuma was released on medical parole, for an undisclosed health condition. A subsequent court judgment ruled the medical parole was invalid, but his lawyers are appealing that judgment.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

DEVELOPING

DEVELOPING Here's what we know about Israel's latest strike in Beirut

Smoke is rising over Lebanon’s capital of Beirut Friday after Israel’s military struck southern suburbs – a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

BREAKING

BREAKING

Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.