MAJOR traffic congestion was reported in Pietermaritzburg last Friday as supporters of former president Jacob Zuma flocked to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to await an update on the his ongoing trial.
Following the day in court, Zuma’s new legal team said that they would need sufficient time, stemming to more than a month, to present four pillars surrounding his case. Those four pillars will be, according to advocate Michael Hellens, the delay in charging Zuma, a delay in the matter coming to trial, prosecutorial interference at the highest level and important pre-trial irregularities.
Zuma faces 16 charges, including fraud and corruption.
Hellens added that the new legal team would need time to cover papers spanning a 17 year period and highlighted that the court case would not be finishing this year so the state need not oppose Zuma’s ask for an extension in time.
“Why put us under any pressure to hit a timeline that will result, in any event, in the matter being heard next year?” asked Hellens.
The case was postponed to November 30.