Lawyers for former South African president Jacob Zuma say charges against him are part of a politically motivated witchhunt because he is so unpopular.
Jacob Zuma is back in court on corruption charges.
But his lawyers say the former President is now so unpopular, he’s being treated unfairly by prosecutors, describing the case against him as driven by bias and mob justice.
His defense team are calling for a permanent stay of prosecution.
“Everybody here and my learned friends on the other side want to lynch Mr Zuma to a prison cell. I am probably the only one in this room whose asked him this question, because I did, “Mr Zuma, are you corrupt?” It’s the first question I asked him when I met him.”
Jacob Zuma’s Lawyer, Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane
Zuma is facing 16 charges of fraud, racketeering, and money laundering relating to a deal to buy almost 5 billion USD of European weapons for the South African military in the late 90s.
The charges were put on hold before he successfully ran for President in 2009 but were revived in 2016.
Zuma was ousted was ousted as President in 2018.
His nine years in power were marked by corruption allegations and economic stagnation.