Former South African President Faces Corruption Charges

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Karma has finally caught up with Mr. Zuma after serving as a head of state for nine years. The 78-year-old came into office in 2009 and stepped down in 2018 after his party members dropped him over surging corruption allegations. For some time, he has been battling corruption accusations, claiming he is innocent

Corruption Charges

President Zuma, and his co-plaintiff, Thales, have denied accusations of money laundering, fraud racketeering, and corruption. On Tuesday, the State prosecutor told the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court that they had concluded the pre-trial matters on Zuma’s case and were ready for the actual trial. Judge Nkosinathi Chili affirmed that the case was trial-ready and scheduled it for May 17^th of this year.

Zuma faces corruption charges related to the payments he received as bribes from Thales during his time in power. Thales was one of the companies that had secured a deal to supply South Africa with weapons. The alleged corrupt exchange was facilitated by Zuma’s former Financial Advisor, Schabir Shaik. Mr. Schabir was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2005. Nonetheless, he was released after two years based on claims of health problems.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zuma has been in attendance amid his court proceedings. Therefore, in addition to his charges, the court also fined him for failing to appear before the state commission. Zuma’s legal woes come at a time when incumbent President Cyril Rmaphosa vowed to fight against corruption in the country. Many South Africans are looking forward to how he is going to address Zuma’s case.

Mr. Ramaphosa had initially established a judicial commission, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, to look into corruption allegations. As such, Mr. Zuma should be prepared come May to face the incumbent deputy Chief justice.

Zuma Reacts to the Charges

Mr. Jacob is neither intimidated nor threatened by the accusations held on him. Just as he refused to plead guilty, he has never attended any meetings with the commission on his case. He made a public announcement that he would go to jail before agreeing to testify before a panel of judges.

However, in response to his disobedience, the commission has filed an application with the high court, demanding Zuma to be convicted of contempt and sentenced to two years in prison for failing to appear before the law. He might also serve a long time in jail once the court arrives at its final verdict considering high-rank officials have ganged up to testify against him

During one of the inquiry sessions with the commission, witnesses such as former cabinet ministers and prominent government officials compromised him. They even alleged that he attempted to award lucrative state contracts to his associates while in power. Maybe he still has some favors in the government for him to behave the way he does.

Generally, everyone should fight corruption, for a more significant part of the African economy is declining because of corrupt leaders. The worst part of it is that innocent civilian are the ones who feel the wrath. Influx rates, food insecurity, water crises, overtaxing are some of the challenges the ordinary human has to deal with.

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