Cape Town – Former president Jacob Zuma is “ready to tell the truth”, his foundation has reportedly said, adding that there would be no delay when his arms deal court case begins on Tuesday, August 10.
“The time has come for President Zuma to let rip [the truth] on Tuesday or Wednesday whatever the time, when he gets to take the stand. I think South Africa must stand and listen. He is about to unleash, he is about to ensure that he tells the truth as he knows it,” EWN quoted the Jacob Zuma Foundation’s spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi as saying.
Zuma, 79, is currently serving his 15-month jail term at the Estcourt Correctional Centre for contempt of court.
A judge said last week that he will be let out of jail to attend a long-running corruption case in person rather than by video link.
The hearing, scheduled to resume in Pietermaritzburg, “shall proceed in an open court”, Judge Piet Koen said.
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Zuma, however, still remains at an undisclosed hospital after he was admitted on Friday for “medical observation“.
But Manyi is convinced it won’t have any impact on his court case.
“We’re all hopeful that after the medical check-up, there’ll be nothing untoward. But I can tell you know that President Zuma’s state of mind now is to be in court,” Manyi reportedly said.
Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.
He is accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.
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Meanwhile, increased police deployment to hotspots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal is expected ahead of the former president’s trial.
According to broadcasting television channel eNCA, police Commissioner Khehla Sitole is expected to extend the deployment of officers to deal with potential protests and violence.
Zuma’s incarceration last month sparked riots and looting that escalated into the worst violence since the end of apartheid, killing more than 300 people, according to the official count.
He shortly afterward appeared for the corruption trial via video link, although his lawyers complained the online format was unconstitutional and breached his right to face-to-face consultation with his lawyers.
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Picture: Getty Images
Additional reporting by AFP
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