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‘We are taking back the country’ Zuma tells crowd, suggesting that his corruption charges should be dropped

‘We are taking back the country’ Zuma tells crowd, suggesting that his corruption charges should be dropped
MK party leaders Nathi Nhleko, Floyd Shivambu and deputy general secretary support Zuma at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. (Photo: MK party/X)
Naledi Sikhakhane
By Naledi Sikhakhane
25 Apr 2025
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French arms company Thales says the State should drop corruption and fraud charges due to the death of two key witnesses. If it succeeds, former president Jacob Zuma, a co-accused in the matter, believes his charges should also be dropped.

Church Street in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, was a hive of activity on Thursday, 24 April 2025, as uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party supporters flocked to the high court to support the co-founder and leader of the party, former president Jacob Zuma, in his Arms Deal case.

Judge Nkosinathi Chili handed judgment on Zuma’s application for leave to appeal against a ruling on State prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer’s involvement in the case. Chili said there was no just cause that pointed to Downer being a proponent of unfair proceedings in this case. The court denied Zuma’s appeal.

Zuma had argued that Downer was biased and that his continued involvement in the case would deny Zuma a fair trial. But Chili said there was no compelling reason to grant the application. Zuma has tried the same strategy on multiple occasions.

Read more: Zuma loses second bid to have Downer removed from arms deal case

Zuma and French arms company 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 help arms company Thales secure lucrative defence contracts. 

Outside the court


Zuma addressed hundreds of his supporters outside the court and suggested the charges against him, which were first laid in 2005, may be dropped. 

Zuma, who was a leader in the KwaZulu-Natal government during the conclusion of the Arms Deal, tried to distance himself from the alleged corruption.

“When the weapons deal happened, I was still here. I was at the local parliament, not the national Parliament. When the deal was originally discussed, the leader was ubaba Nelson Mandela and the then deputy president, Thabo Mbeki, but when there was news of theft, they said Zuma stole,” he said.

He was in high spirits and was resolute as he said: “The case has to come to an end. I want to thank you for the continuous support. We are finishing this now. It’s good that it is coming to an end when there is uMkhonto Wesizwe. We are taking back the country, we all can see we are growing, there is no more time to play.

“We were robbed last time, but that will not happen again. We should all come out in numbers and vote,” said Zuma.

Members of Zuma’s MK party continue to make unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2024 general elections and have taken the matter to the Electoral Court. 

Zuma took a swipe at the Government of National Unity (GNU), which announced a 0.5 percentage point VAT increase in the Budget speech before withdrawing it on Thursday, suggesting that the VAT increase bid and its subsequent withdrawal was an example of a government that was not in touch with the people.

Read more: VAT debacle shines a light on a fragile coalition — and R75bn question remains

Thales’ dismissal bid


Judge Chili also heard arguments for an application brought by Thales, the second accused in the matter.

Thales is requesting an acquittal, stating that their witnesses have died. It says this is enough reason to not go to trial. It says its arguments during the trial would be affected by the absence of the witnesses.

The company’s lawyers told the court that two of its key witnesses, Pierre Moynto and Alain Thetard, who were employees at Thales, had died.

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

Mpofu said: “The State cannot speculate, which is what it would be doing without these key witnesses.” 

The State was not convinced, saying it could still call on Shaik to testify, and that Zuma himself could testify. 

MK party leaders Nathi Nhleko, Floyd Shivambu and Deputy General Secretary Nombuso Mhkize support Jacob Zuma at the KZN Division of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg. (Photo: MK party / X)



“As appears from the indictment, the State alleges that he (Zuma) personally was involved in the racketeering, corruption and fraud with which he has been charged, and it is open to him to testify in his own defence as Mr Shaik did in his criminal trial,” said State prosecutor Advocate Andrew Breitenbach.

In opposing the application, the State said the death of the two witnesses could not be used to prevent the trial from going ahead.

“When the court considers such an application, it has to also consider the seriousness of the charges that the accused are facing,” Breitenbach said, adding that most of the witnesses who gave evidence during Shaik’s trial were still available to give their testimony.

He told the court that the State had given its undertaking that it would not object to evidence from the Shaik trial, which had a bearing on this case, being admitted as hearsay evidence.

The case will resume in court on 3 June 2025. DM



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