By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The corruption trial against former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales has been set down to begin on 1 February 2027.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled that the trial must proceed following the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) application to block Zuma and Thales from further delaying the arms deal case.
Zuma and Thales face charges linked to multi-billion-rand arms procurement deal from the late 1990s.
He is accused of taking bribes from Thales in exchange for protecting the firm from an investigation into the deal when he was deputy president.
Zuma, 84, was not present when the judgement was handed down.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Judge Nkosinathi Chili found that Zuma had been employing stalling tactics by filing interlocutory applications in an attempt to delay the trial.
“A factual finding has been made several times, not only by the full court of this division and the Gauteng Division, but also by the Supreme Court of Appeal that Zuma is implementing Stalingrad delay tactics to the commencement of the trial,” he said.
The judge stated that allowing the situation to continue unchecked, especially after the appeals were dismissed, would seriously undermine the interests of justice.
“Without this court’s intervention, there is a likelihood of grave injustice or the administration of justice being brought into disrepute,” he ruled.
As a result, Chili ruled that the trial must proceed irrespective of any interlocutory applications by either the state, Zuma or Thales.
Meanwhile the JG Zuma Foundation has described the ruling as irrational.
The foundation believes the ruling makes no sense given that there are pending proceedings before the Supreme Court of Appeal seeking a permanent stay of prosecution.
“It is deeply troubling that the criminal justice system continues to disregard fundamental principles of fairness, rationality, and due process in the pursuit of a matter that has now spanned more than two decades without a single witness being led against President Jacob Zuma, “said the foundation’s Mzwanele Manyi.
“At the centre of the pending proceedings before the Supreme Court of Appeal is the incontrovertible reality that several material witnesses have since passed away, memories have faded, evidence has deteriorated, and the passage of time has irreparably prejudiced the ability of the accused to receive a fair trial as contemplated in section 35 of the Constitution,” he added.
The case has dragged due to judicial and prosecutorial recusals and other procedural challenges in what has become known as “Stalingrad”, in reference to a tactic aimed at wearing down proceedings through constant appeals.