Trial of Ex-South African President Postponed Until August

The corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma has been postponed until next month.

A judge at the Pietermaritzburg High Court in the former president’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday adjourned Zuma’s trial until August 10. Zuma’s lawyers had requested a delay to allow him to appear in person and properly consult with them. Zuma is charged with multiple counts of corruption, fraud and racketeering in connection with a massive 1999 arms deal involving French defense giant Thales when he served as deputy president. The company has also been charged with corruption and money laundering. The 79-year-old Zuma appeared Monday via a video link from the correctional facility where he is serving a 15-month prison sentence handed down by the Constitutional Court in late June for failing to appear before a separate inquiry into allegations of corruption during his nine-year presidency, which ended in 2018.