Prosecutions boss Shaun Abrahams – a big Zuma loyalist – has announced that the National Prosecuting Authority will reinstate fraud and corruption charges against former President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma faces 18 charges of fraud corruption and money laundering related to 783 payments from his former advisor Shabir Shaik.
Shortly after the news broke DA leader Mmusi Maimane tweeted: “We have to furthermore ensure that the state does not continue to fund Mr Zuma’s legal bid. He has already spent 15 million now we need to stop the payment and ensure that no more money is spent on him personally. Zuma must now pay.
The BBC reported the charges – which Zuma denies – include counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering. Zuma, 75, was forced to resign as president last month by his party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He was facing his ninth no-confidence vote in parliament before he left office.
The charges relate to a 30bn rand ($2.5bn; £1.7bn) government arms deal in the late 1990s, before he became president. Zuma faces one charge of racketeering, two charges of corruption, one charge of money laundering and 12 of fraud. He was first charged with corruption on 29 June 2005.
Zuma went on trial in 2006 but the case collapsed when the prosecution said it was not ready to proceed more than a year after he was charged. South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) controversially dropped the charges in 2009, shortly before he won the presidency.
