Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, who resigned over corruption charges leveled against him, will be prosecuted on 16 charges of corruption according to the Director of South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority.
Noting the “long history” of the reinstated charges against Zuma, Shaun Abrahams, head of the National Prosecuting Authority, said charges which were thrown out by prosecutors nearly a decade ago in a contentious decision that opened the way for him to become president, will be reopened. The charges relate to an arms deal in the 1990s, when Jacob Zuma was deputy president.
“After consideration of the matter, I am of the view that there are reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution of Mr. Zuma on the charges listed in the indictment,” Abrahams said.
Shaun Abrahams announced that Zuma will face charges including fraud, corruption, racketeering and money laundering.
“Mr. Zuma in addition disputes all the allegations against him and records that he lacked the requisite intention to commit any of the crimes listed in the indictment,” said Abrahams, who himself faced calls to resign for allegedly declining to move against Zuma when he was in office.
75-year-old Jacob Zuma, Zuma, resigned as president last month after he was ordered to do so by his party, the African National Congress. He was replaced by his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who has promised a robust campaign against corruption and also faces the tough task of rebuilding the popularity of a ruling party whose moral stature has diminished since it took power at the end of white minority rule in 1994.
Washington Post reports that in a separate case, South African authorities are seeking to arrest members of the Gupta business family, which allegedly used its connections to Zuma to influence Cabinet appointments and win state contracts. Additionally, a judicial panel is preparing to view allegations of corruption at high levels of the South African government during Zuma’s years in office.
