Arrest Warrant Issued For Former South African President

Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, faces 18 corruption charges. (Wikimedia Commons)

A South African court issued an arrest warrant for former South African President Jacob Zuma on February 4 after he failed to appear in court for a corruption trial. 

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) requested Zuma’s arrest, but the new warrant will not officially take effect until May 6, Zuma’s next scheduled court appearance. 

Zuma’s legal team claimed that he was receiving medical care in Cuba, but Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Dhaya Pillay was skeptical. Pillay described the document Zuma’s legal team submitted as evidence of his illness as “puzzling” and questioned whether it had been verified by a medical professional. Zuma’s months-long attempt to avoid the trial casts further doubt on the veracity of his illness.  

Zuma, who held office from 2009 to 2018, faces multiple charges of fraud, racketeering, and money laundering related to a 1999 arms deal. The $4.8 billion agreement with Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain, and France was intended to modernize South Africa’s national defenses. However, concerns of corruption emerged within months, leading to official investigations into allegations of bribery, conflicts of interest, and illegal or non-transparent purchasing processes. 

Shabir Shaik, the former financial advisor for then-Deputy-President Jacob Zuma, was convicted in 2005 for soliciting a bribe on Zuma’s behalf. Between 1995 and 2005, Zuma received $34,000 annually from Thint, the local subsidiary of French arms company Thales, in exchange for protecting the company from an investigation into the deal. Although Shaik was sentenced to a 15-year prison sentence, he was released on medical parole in 2009. 

In April of 2009, the National Prosecuting Authority dropped all charges against Zuma, clearing the way for Parliament to select him as president later that month. The acting head of the NPA at the time, Mokotedi Mpshe, said that the charges were dropped because the case had been irreparably spoiled by political “collusion” between lead NPA investigator Leonard McCarthy and former NPA head Bulelani Ngcuka. The two allegedly manipulated the timing of the charge’s reveal in an attempt to discredit Zuma in the election for leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), the current ruling party. 

However, in April of 2016, the High Court ruled that the NPA’s decision was “irrational” and that President Zuma ought to face charges. This decision was upheld in an October 2017 Supreme Court ruling, and Zuma was ousted as the leader of the ANC in December. Facing mounting pressure and a looming vote of no confidence, Zuma resigned as president in February 2018 and was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa. One month later, the NPA announced that it would reinstate corruption charges against the former President.  

Zuma now faces 18 charges of corruption, fraud, and racketeering. However, he maintains his innocence and continues to claim that he was the victim of a decade-long “character assassination” campaign.  

Frequently described as the worst case of corruption in the country’s history, the scandal has reduced public faith in the post-apartheid government and has severely damaged the reputation of the ANC. Furthermore, the scandal has undermined investor confidence, sparking economic turmoil in sub-Saharan Africa’s most developed economy.