The trial against former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales resumes in Pietermaritzburg.
The former president faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to a 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and military gear from five European arms firms when he was South Africa’s deputy president.
The trial started in May after numerous postponements and delays, as Zuma’s legal team worked fervently to have the charges dropped.
Jacob Zuma and Thales have previously pleaded not guilty.
Zuma has asked for his fraud and corruption trial to be postponed for a week.
His lawyers have filed an urgent application, saying the former president wants to testify in person about why he should be acquitted without trial. The lawyers are also against a digital hearing.
In an application to the court, Zuma’s lawyers have cited violent disruptions preventing them from meeting with him as a key reason for asking for the postponement.
Zuma has since been jailed for unrelated contempt of court.
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