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A judge in the corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma announced at a hearing on Monday that he would step down from the case at the risk of it returning to court.
At a televised hearing at the Pietermaritzburg Court (Southeast), Justice Pete Cohen said, “I have come to the conclusion that I must decline the trial. and dictated by my conscience.”
80-year-old Jacob Zuma was accused of accepting bribes from the French legal team Thales in a case that goes back more than 20 years. He has been charged with 16 counts of fraud, corruption and racketeering. Thales has also been charged with corruption and money laundering.
The former head of state did not attend the technical hearing.
For months, Zuma has lobbied for the resignation of Billy Downer, the trial’s lead prosecutor whom he accuses of being biased. Last year, Judge Cohen dismissed the claim.
He now worries that the decision could call into question his own impartiality “when the question arises as to whether Mr Zuma received a constitutionally fair trial”.
“If Judge Cohen doesn’t continue the trial, a new one will have to sit,” Kathy Powell, a constitutional scholar at the University of Cape Town, told AFP. Lawyers fear that the trial would then have to start “from the beginning.”
The Zuma corruption trial, which began in May 2021, has seen a number of postponements and delays due to a surge in appeals by defendants.
A landmark report on corruption pervasive during Jacob Zuma’s nine-year presidency (2009-2018) was presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, accusing the former head of state of systematic looting of public funds. emphasized its central role.
Jacob Zuma, who stubbornly refused to testify before an ad hoc commission of inquiry, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court. The circumstances sparked an unprecedented wave of violence and looting in South Africa.
He was released on parole after two months for health reasons.
The next hearing in his trial is scheduled for April 17th.
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