Jacob Zuma, Former South Africa Leader, Charged With Corruption

In a severe legal blow to Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, national prosecutors announced on Friday that they would reinstate corruption charges against him in a case related to a multibillion-dollar arms deal in the late 1990s.

Shaun Abrahams, South Africa’s chief prosecutor, said there were “reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution” of Mr. Zuma.

The announcement was the latest — though not, most likely, final — chapter in a long-running corruption case that nearly derailed Mr. Zuma’s bid for the presidency, tarnished the image of South Africa’s governing African National Congress and laid the seeds of a culture of graft that has flourished in recent years.

Mr. Zuma, who was ousted last month as president by the A.N.C., was the leader of the party and the nation’s deputy president when the arms deal was finalized in 1999.

Over the past decade, Mr. Zuma has used legal maneuvers and the power of the presidency to avoid prosecution. He was originally indicted in 2007 on 18 charges of corruption, fraud and racketeering, including accepting bribes from a military contractor. At the time, Mr. Zuma, who has always maintained his innocence, was forced to resign as deputy president by President Thabo Mbeki. The case became entwined in a power struggle between the two men.

Source: Nytimes