The corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma, over twenty-year-old bribes linked to an arms contract, was once again postponed Tuesday, August 10 for health reasons.
Read also: In South Africa, Jacob Zuma resists the country's justice
The next hearing is set for September 9, ruled Judge Piet Koen in a short virtual hearing.
Jacob Zuma, 79, has been hospitalized since Friday for a still unknown reason.
Jacob Zuma has been in jail since July 8 in a separate case for stubbornly refusing to appear before a commission investigating state corruption under his chairmanship (2009-2018).
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in this context.
Liability of the French giant Thales
After multiple postponements and twists and turns, now spanning decades, Jacob Zuma faces sixteen counts of fraud, corruption and racketeering linked to the purchase, in 1999, of military equipment from five arms companies. European Union, while he was vice-president.
Read also: Jacob Zuma sued for corruption
He is accused of having pocketed more than four million rand (or 235,000 euros at the current rate), in particular from Thales which was one of the companies awarded the juicy contract with a global value of around 2.8 billion euros.
The French defense giant is also being prosecuted for corruption and money laundering.
Jacob Zuma, like Thales, has always denied these accusations.
At the previous hearing last month, when Jacob Zuma's lawyers requested a postponement of several weeks so that the trial could proceed in court rather than virtually, the prosecution denounced their arguments, saying it it was "
yet another ruse
".
