PIETERMARITZBURG - Former president Jacob Zuma to appeal the judgment that ordered his Arms Deal case to go on trial.
Zuma and French arms company, Thales, are finally set to face the music in February next year.
On Thursday, the High Court in Pietermaritzburg ruled that the decades-long arms deal corruption case should proceed without further delays.
Judge Nkosinathi Chili detailed decades-long delaying tactics by the former president.
The case has been tied up in legal disputes dating back to 2003, with records showing repeated applications and challenges that have delayed proceedings for more than 20 years.
The case has finally been set down for 1 February 2027.
Zuma and the arms company face charges including fraud, corruption, racketeering, and money laundering linked to the multi-billion-rand arms procurement deal.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation said Zuma has given firm instructions to his legal team to institute an application for leave to appeal against the judgment.
The foundation has sharply criticised the court judgment, describing it as “totally erroneous” and accusing the court of gross misdirections in both fact and law.
It said it believes there are strong prospects of another court overturning the ruling on appeal.
"It cannot be that a single judge can willy-nilly erase or rewrite the Constitution of South Africa, which guarantees several substantive and procedural rights to all accused persons," the Jacob Zuma Foundation said in a statement.
"We cannot have one law for all accused persons and another law for Zuma. It is time to put a stop to the growing phenomenon known as “Zuma Law.” As we speak, two appeals are pending before the Supreme Court: one dealing with the recusal of the current prosecutor and the other dealing with the application by Thales for acquittal based on the deaths of key witnesses."