Zuma to face trial after dropping appeal against prosecution

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has abandoned attempts to halt a looming corruption trial on charges related to a 1990s arms deal, his office said Wednesday.

A statement released by his foundation said the Constitutional Court had on Tuesday accepted "his withdrawal of the application for leave to appeal" against prosecution.

"This indeed paves the way for him to prepare for the trial and demonstrate that he has never benefited from any arms deal corruption or tried to evade the trial," it said.

Zuma is alleged to have taken bribes of 4 million rand (220,000 U.S. dollars) related to a 3.4-billion-U.S.-dollar arms deal with French aerospace and defense giant Thales in 1999 when he was deputy president.

The Supreme Court last month dismissed his application for a permanent stay of prosecution against him.

He then approached the Constitutional Court in another appeal bid.

Zuma is scheduled to appear in court for the corruption charges on May 6. But it is unclear if the hearing will proceed as the country is under a coronavirus lockdown.

In all, he faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering relating to the purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and other military equipment.

In February, the 78-year-old Zuma was slapped with an arrest warrant after he failed to appear in a high court pre-trial hearing while he was undergoing medical treatment in Cuba.

(AFP)