S. Africa prosecutors appeal 783 corruption charges against Zuma
South African state prosecutors say they will take to the country’s top court to challenge a court order to reinstate nearly 800 corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma ahead of local polls next month.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in a Friday statement that it intends to appeal the High Court ruling in May to review an NPA decision to set aside the enormous corruption charges against Zuma, describing it as “irrational.”
“The NPA has decided to apply for leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court against the judgment,” read the statement.
The development came as the country’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party alleged that the state prosecutor’s decision was an attempt to shield President Zuma and buy him time prior to the elections in August.
“We call on the President and the NPA to dispense with this approach and proceed with the institution of charges,” the DA announced in a statement.
The 783 charges relate to suspected corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering over a multi-billion dollar arms deal in the 1990s.
In 2009, state prosecutors justified dropping the charges by arguing that tapped phone calls between authorities in then-president Thabo Mbeki’s administration proved undue interference in the case.
The move cleared the way for election of the African National Congress party as South Africa’s president just weeks later.
The tapped phone recordings, which became known as the “spy tapes,” were kept classified until they were unveiled in 2014 after a legal challenge by the DA.
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