The corruption trial of South Africa’s jailed former president Jacob Zuma will resume virtually on Monday, despite deadly violence that swept the nation after his imprisonment.
Zuma 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 deputy president.
He is also accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.
The trial started in May after numerous postponements and delays, as Zuma’s legal team worked fervently to have the charges dropped.
The 79-year-old Zuma appeared in person for the opening and said he was innocent.Thales also pleaded not guilty, and the next hearing was set for Monday.
However, things took a nasty turn when on June 29, Zuma was found guilty of contempt of South Africa’s top court for snubbing graft investigators probing his tenure as president. He was jailed a week later.
The incarceration sparked protests in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, which snowballed into a week of looting and arson that spread to the economic hub Johannesburg, claiming over 200 lives.
Zuma has retained a fervent support base within the ANC and among the general public, viewed by many as a “people’s man” and a defender of the poor.
Analysts are warning that Monday’s hearing could reignite tensions that had eased late last week.
However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to office promising to curb graft, said the riots were a “coordinated and well-planned attack” on the country’s young democracy.
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