Former South African president Jacob Zuma failed to attend the start of his corruption trial in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal province “due to an undisclosed medical condition,” an official said on Monday.
According to Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi, due to Zuma’s absence the legal team would apply for a further postponement of his case after Judge Piet Koen had ruled that the trial would start on 11 April.
“He is not in a condition to be here,” Manyi said.
Press reports, however, said Zuma’s plans were to use a private prosecutor to revive his case against National Prosecuting Authority lead prosecutor Billy Downer to be removed from the case for his perceived bias against the former president.
His previous efforts to removed Downer failed in the courts – setting the scene for Koen to set Monday for the full trial to start.
Zuma and French arms dealer Thales are facing multiple corruption charges in connection with a multi-billion-dollar arms deal when he was state vice president under former president Thabo Mbeki the 1990s.
NM/jn/APA