JOHANNESBURG – Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial is set to begin in May, more than 16 years after he was first implicated in the graft allegations.
Zuma, South Africa's president from 2009 to 2018, is accused of receiving bribes from French arms manufacturer Thales. Both Zuma and Thales deny the charges against them, which include corruption, fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.
Zuma's trial and the order for him to appear before a judicial inquiry into graft are seen as tests of President Cyril Rampahosa's campaign against corruption.
State prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer told the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday that all pre-trial matters had been concluded and that both the state and Zuma’s