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The spokeswoman for the National Prosecutor’s Office (NPA) in KwaZulu-Natal, Natasha Kara, has said that the trial for the arms deal of former President Jacob Zuma will proceed on Tuesday in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
This after the Jacob G Zuma Foundation criticized the NPA for “not being prepared to proceed with its trial against” Zuma.
In a statement released Sunday, the foundation expressed disappointment at the NPA’s lack of preparation, which it said has resulted in Tuesday’s court appearance no longer taking place.
Kara, however, said the matter was settled for Tuesday and that she would be in court, adding that once the court proceeding has concluded on Tuesday, a statement will be issued on what happened.
Zuma was expected to appear in Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday on charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and extortion related to the 1999 multi-million dollar arms deal.
His foundation said: “For too long, the NPA together with the media accused President Zuma of delaying tactics. However, it is the NPA that is not ready to proceed when President Zuma asks it to present its case against him.
“The silence of the media on this is deafening.
“Not once is the NPA accused of the so-called ‘Stalingrad’ when, after nearly two decades of media fanfare that the NPA was ready, it becomes clear that the NPA is the one not ready.”
The foundation expressed disappointment “at the way the NPA seems to get away with our courts,” which it said, “seems powerless to reign in the NPA.”
“This is so because there seems to be a different jurisdiction applied by our courts when it comes to President Zuma.
“Generally, our courts should remove the issue from the list until the NPA and Thales have finalized their dispute,” the statement said.
The French arms company Thales is Zuma’s co-defendant in the matter.
The foundation said asking for the matter to be removed from the list would be a waste of time because the court would never do so out of a concern perceived as “being soft on Zuma.”
“The foundation calls on the NPA and our courts to treat President Zuma like any other citizen and litigant.
“The foundation asks the NPA to start the trial immediately, as it has always said that it is ready to try President Zuma.
“No one is accusing the NPA of ‘Stalingrad’ even when it is clear that their claim that they were ready was obviously false.
“Given the antipathy towards President Zuma within our criminal justice system, it is understandable that he seems reluctant to go to our courts for justice.”
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