DA on Jacob Zuma’s leave to appeal dismissal: 'Another step closer to having his day in court'

The DA has welcomed the Pietermaritzburg High Court's decision to deny Jacob Zuma's application to appeal the court's decision that he should stand trial.

The high court ruled on Friday that the former president had no reasonable prospect of success in appealing against the judgment that his corruption prosecution should go ahead, BusinessLIVE reported.

The case relates to the multibillion-rand arms deal of the 1990s.

Zuma and the French arms company Thales face charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering linked to the arms deal.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

Welcoming the decision, the DA's Glynnis Breytenbach said the dismissal was another step closer for Zuma to face the music.

“Despite his own repeated assertion that he would welcome the opportunity to have his day in court, Mr Zuma has done everything in his power to resist being held accountable for the alleged criminal activities in which he was involved during the arms deal,” said the shadow minister of justice.

Breytenbach said the DA was encouraged by the ruling of the court as it reaffirmed the party's belief that Zuma should have to face his day in court.

She said that for years the DA had been fighting to make sure Zuma was prosecuted on the 18 charges of corruption brought against him, which included more than 700 individual counts of fraud, money laundering, corruption and racketeering.

“After the then-national director of public prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, decided to drop charges against Mr Zuma in 2009, the DA set out to have that decision overturned and force Mr Zuma to face his day in court. This involved a lengthy legal battle for the release of the so-called 'spy tapes', which was finally won in 2014.

“After that, a second lengthy legal battle ensued to have Mpshe’s decision declared irrational, which the Supreme Court of Appeal confirmed in 2017.”