By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court dismissed French arms company Thales and former president Jacob Zuma’s application to have the arms deal charges withdrawn.
French arms company Thales believes the State should drop corruption and fraud charges due to the death of two key witnesses – Pierre Moynot and Alain Thétard, both former employees of Thales.
Both Thales and Zuma face charges of corruption, racketeering, money laundering, and fraud. It’s all linked to the multi-billion rand 1999 arms deal.
Delivering his ruling, Judge Nkosinathi Chili ruled that the corruption trial will now proceed as planned.
“I am not convinced that Zuma’s right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by the non-availability of Messrs. Thétard and Moynot. There is no justification for the ground of the order sought by Zuma in the alternative in accordance with Section 172 (1) (b) of the Constitution
“I therefore make the following order, the application by both Zuma and Thales is dismissed,” Chilli ruled.
Zuma’s legal team argued that it stood to reason that Thales’ acquittal would lead to Zuma’s acquittal. Adv Dali Mpofu had initially argued that without those witnesses, their team could not challenge the evidence, essentially rendering the trial unfair.
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 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.
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.