Former President Jacob Zuma is holding a public address on Saturday morning in Johannesburg.
Zuma is widely expected to speak on his arms deal corruption trial and his ambitions to be elected as the ANC’s national chairperson, during the governing party’s elective conference in December.
WATCH LIVE: Zuma speaks to the nation, courtesy of SABC News
Corruption trial
The 80-year-old former statesman and French arms firm, Thales, are facing 18 counts of corruption, including money laundering, tax evasion, and racketeering, in connection with the multi-billion rand arms deal.
Zuma’s corruption case was postponed on Wednesday to allow the Constitutional Court to rule on his latest legal bid to remove National Prosecuting Authority prosecutor Billy Downer as lead prosecutor on the case.
Pietermaritzburg High Court judge Piet Koen on Wednesday postponed Jacob Zuma’s arms deal corruption trial until 30 January 2023.
Should the apex court dismiss the application, Zuma’s long-awaited trial is expected to begin in November.
So far, Zuma’s attempt to remove Downer from his case failed at the Supreme Court of Appeal, with President Mandisa Maya dismissing his special plea application in May.
The former president has been relentlessly trying to remove Downer from his case, arguing that the veteran prosecutor is weaponising the arms deal fraud and corruption case against him in an apparent personal crusade.
Zuma remains adamant that Downer lacks impartiality to bring the matter to trial.
But this application is widely viewed as yet another flawed attempt at stalling his day in court.
Additional reporting by Narissa Subramoney
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