Former President Jacob Zuma’s bid to appeal against a ruling that could see him going on trial for corruption in the coming months has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
The court issued its decision without even hearing argument from Zuma’s lawyers about why he contends the Pietermaritzburg high court was wrong to refuse his application of a permanent stay of the 15-year-old prosecution against him.
In a two-page order, the appeal court states that Zuma’s leave to appeal application has been “dismissed with costs” because “there is no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason the appeal should be heard”.
Zuma stands accused of having a corrupt relationship with his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, who was convicted of bribing him to promote and support his business interests.
The state further contends that Shaik facilitated a R500,000 a year bribe from French arms company Thales for Zuma, in exchange for his “political protection” from any investigation of the controversial multibillion rand arms deal.
Zuma denies any wrongdoing but insists that the case against him has been too fatally tainted by undue delay and political interference to go ahead.
Three judges at the Pietermaritzburg high court rejected that argument in 2019, and said Zuma could raise his complaints with the judge who tried him.
Thales, which is Zuma’s co-accused, is also seeking to appeal against the dismissal of its application for a permanent stay of prosecution in the Constitutional Court.
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