JZ pleads not guilty
TRIAL: Jacob Zuma in Pietermaritzburg court. File photo
Former President Jacob Zuma yesterday pleaded not guilty to all 18 counts of corruption, fraud and money laundering brought against him by the NPA before the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Also pleading not guilty was Thales, the French arms company accused of bribing Zuma via Schabir Shaik in order to win tenders during the arms acquisition of 1998 and 1999.
In a surprise move, Zuma bolstered his legal defence team by bringing in Advocate Dali Mpofu to assist Advocate Thabani Masuku SC (senior counsel).
Zuma and Thales face charges of corruption, racketeering and money laundering linked to the arms deal.
He also applied for a special plea to have State prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer removed from his trial because Downer allegedly engaged in illegal and unethical conduct in the past.
Should he win this battle, Zuma wants the entire corruption trial to be thrown out as the law says once a case is tainted, it must be dismissed.
Parties agreed that the NPA should be given time to file answering affidavits and have this matter heard around July this year.
Zuma said Downer is politically compromised as he assisted the DA, which brought a court case to revive the corruption trial.
Despite this, Zuma was indicted and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Among the revelations in the charge sheet is that Zuma allegedly started receiving bribes from Shaik in 1995 until 2005, amounting to roughly R4.7 million.