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South Africa court delays Zuma corruption trial until after election

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] South Africa's Pietermaritzburg High Court announced Wednesday that the corruption trial of African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma and arms dealer Thint would be delayed until after the country's presidential election. The agreement calls for Zuma to apply for permanent stay of prosecution on May 18, and oral argument is scheduled for Aug. 25. The election will be held between April and June, and Zuma is favored to become president. Zuma plans to appeal to the Constitutional Court of South Africa the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa to reinstate the charges, which had been invalidated in September 2008. The ANC expressed strong support for Zuma, referring to the criminal proceedings as "the injustices he has now suffered for far too long." Zuma was ousted as the country's deputy president in 2005 after an aide was convicted of corruption. He was also charged with rape, but ultimately acquitted and reinstated as ANC deputy vice president. In July 2008, the South African Constitutional Court rejected a motion by Zuma to exclude evidence from the corruption trial. Zuma had argued that evidence seized in 2005 raids by the Directorate of Special Investigations should be thrown out because the raids violated his rights to privacy and a fair trial. The court upheld the warrants used in the raids, confirming a November 2007 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal. He was first charged with corruption in 2005, but those charges were later dismissed because prosecutors failed to follow proper procedures.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).