By Zuko Komisa
Judge Piet Koen of the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday decided not to continue as the judge of Jacob Zuma’s weapons deal corruption trial and postponed it until January 30, 2023.
Zumat is facing 18 charges, including corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion racketeering linked to the arms deal in the late 1990s.
Charges were dropped in 2009 by former National Prosecuting Authority head Mokotedi Moshe weeks before he was elected president.
They were, however, reinstated in 2018, marking one of the longest-running legal battles in the country.
Also Read: WATCH: Businessman claims you can make “R580K per month selling kotas from a 6 X 4 meters container”
“Upon careful reflection, I have concluded that the issue of my continued involvement as presiding judge in this trial, needs in the interests of justice to be addressed,”
“These developments have brought into sharp focus whether it is proper that I decide one or more of these issues, including eventually also such issues as to whether Mr Zuma will receive a constitutionally fair trial at the end of the day, having regard to findings I have made and views I have expressed,” Koen said.
Point of View with Phemelo Motene spoke to Mpumelelo Zikalala who is a Law Expert about the arms deal case and broke down the timeline of the case.
LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION:
READ NEXT: Thuso Mbedu graces the cover of GQ Magazine



