S.Africa: Zuma corruption case postponed for 6 months

The corruption case against former South African President Jacob Zuma has been postponed for nearly six months.

“You are warned to appear in this court on 20 May at 9:30 a.m.,” high court judge Mjabuliseni Madondo, ruling in the city of Pietermaritzburg, said on Friday during Zuma’s brief court appearance.

Zuma faces 16 charges, including corruption, racketeering, and fraud linked to a 1999 multibillion-rand government arms deal.

It is alleged he received 783 payments as bribes to protect a French arms firm from facing an investigation into a dodgy arms deal.

The former president’s legal team has applied for a permanent stay of prosecution, saying the case has dragged on for too long.

Hundreds of Zuma’s supporters gathered outside the court where he stopped to address them.

Zuma, 76, was forced in February to resign by his ruling African National Congress (ANC) Party, but he has apparently not held a grudge.

Outside the courthouse, he tried to drum up support for the ANC ahead of next May’s general election.

Speaking in his native Zulu, Zuma urged his supporters to vote for the ANC, saying: “If you don’t vote for the ANC because of me, then you are punishing the party.”

He told the crowd that the ANC comes before individual interests. Zuma also sang revolutionary songs to the jubilant crowd of supporters.