South Africa’s embattled former president Jacob Zuma will appeal against a court ruling that he stand trial on corruption charges, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Zuma’s last-minute appeal will delay the case over bribery allegations dating back to a 1990s arms deal. He dismissed the charges as a conspiracy.
The trial would be the first time Zuma faced a court on graft charges, despite a string of accusations over his long political career.
The High Court in the southeastern city of Pietermaritzburg last week rejected his request to have charges of fraud, graft and racketeering dismissed, clearing the way for the trial to start on Tuesday.
But Zuma’s lawyer Thabani Masuku told the court at the start of the trial that the ex-president would appeal, dragging on a case that has seen numerous legal twists over 15 years.
“Mr Zuma would like to exercise the full extent of his constitutional rights, which includes the right to appeal,” Masuku said.
Outside the court, Zuma told a small crowd of supporters that “there have been many conspirators against me”.
“There is no justice that will be served by continuing with this case,” he told the crowd in Zulu.
He was forced to resign as president last year by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party after a nine-year reign marred by corruption allegations and dwindling popularity.
He is accused of taking bribes worth four million rand ($270,000) before he became president from a 51-billion-rand ($3.4-billion) 1999 arms purchase by five European firms, including French defence company Thales.
Both Zuma and Thales, which is accused of paying the bribes and was also to stand trial, deny the charges.
The appeal will be heard on November 22, and proceedings are scheduled to resume on the provisional date of February 4.
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