Justice prevails: high court dismisses Zuma and Thales’ application, arms deal case to proceed

The KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales’ bid to have criminal charges against them dropped. 

The longstanding case related to the controversial arms deal will now proceed despite the deaths of key witnesses Pierre Moynot and Alain Thétard, both former employees of Thales. 

Both the company’s and Zuma’s legal team, led by advocate Dali Mpofu, had used the duo’s death as a basis for their application for acquittal. 

On Tuesday, 3 May 2025, while giving a verdict on the matter, Judge Nkosinathi Chili however said he found sufficient reason to believe that Zuma would receive a fair trial and dismissed the application.  

“I am not persuaded either that Mr Zuma’s right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by the non-availability of Mr Thétard and Mr Moynot. There is no justification for the granting of the order sought by Mr Zuma in the alternative in accordance with section 172 1 (b) of the Constitution. I therefore make the following order: the application by both Mr Zuma and Thales is dismissed.” 

Zuma’s legal team argued that it stood to reason that Thales’ acquittal would lead to Zuma’s acquittal. Mpofu had initially argued that without those witnesses, their team could not challenge the evidence, essentially rendering the trial unfair. 

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Zuma and Thales stand accused of corruption, racketeering, money laundering and fraud related to the 1999 arms deal. Zuma is accused of receiving payments totalling R4.1-million between 1995 and 2004 from his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik and Shaik’s companies to further Thales’ interests.  

Making reference to several parts of the Constitution, Judge Chili said: “I am therefore satisfied that it will be incompetent of this court to grant the relief sought in prayer one of the main application. The relief sought in prayer two is conditional upon the grant of the relief sought in prayer one. Put conversely, the court can only acquit an accused person who has pleaded to a charge, if the State, in the exercise of its discretion, has stopped the prosecution.”   

For years, Zuma has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the arms deal case and maintained that the charges against him are politically motivated. He has also slammed the delays in the matter. 

Zuma has repeatedly challenged elements of the case, particularly the involvement of prosecutor Billy Downer, which has led to significant delays. 

Judge Chili, however, did not apportion blame: “It is common cause that there has been a considerable delay in the prosecution of both Mr Zuma and Thales. However, in light of the view I take of this meeting, I do not consider it appropriate to engage in the exercise of attributing blame to any party for the delay.”

The judge further cited an observation made by the Constitutional Court, emphasising that fair trial rights must consider not only the interests of the accused persons, but also the broader interests of society.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga told Daily Maverick:  “The NPA welcomes the judgment by Judge Chili in respect of the Thales application. We feel vindicated in view of our long-held belief that this was a rehearsed application, which had been pronounced upon by the courts in 2018. We hope that there will be no more interlocutory application that will have an undesirable impact or effect of delaying the trial. We hope that it resumes without any further delays,” he said.   

The case is due to return to court on 4 December 2025, with the State likely to argue that it should proceed regardless of whether Zuma challenges Tuesday’s decision or not. 

Zuma was due, on Tuesday afternoon, to brief journalists on various political developments, including this matter. DM