Zuma arrives for start of corruption trial
Would-be South African president Jacob Zuma, riding high on a wave of support, arrived at the Pietermaritzburg High Court today for the start of a corruption trial that could spell the end of his ambitions for the top job.
The ex-deputy president, who was acquitted of rape in May, is charged with the local subsidiary of a French weapons company accused of bribing him to deflect investigations into a 1999 arms deal with the South African government.
Prosecutors have requested that the case be postponed until next year – a move that Zuma’s lawyers have vowed to oppose during preliminary arguments today.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the court, where thousands of Zuma supporters held an overnight vigil.
About 500 remained this morning, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Zuma’s image and singing an old anti-apartheid song that has become his anthem: “Bring Me My Machine Gun”.
The turnout was far less than the tens of thousands promised by organisers.
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