Zuma, Thales lose bid to have arms deal charges against them dropped
PIETERMARITZBURG - Former President Jacob Zuma has lost his bid to have charges related to the controversial arms deal filed against him dropped.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application brought by French arms company, Thales, and Zuma, to be acquitted of the criminal charges.
Thales filed the application in May.
It argued that since two of its key witnesses had died, it would not be guaranteed a fair trial.
Zuma joined Thales in its bid to have the charges dropped.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court found that the former president and Thales did have a case to answer to.
They face charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering linked to the 1999 arms deal.
Judge Nkosinathi Chili delivered his judgment on Tuesday.
"There is no justification for the grant of order sought by Mr Zuma in the alternative in accordance with section 172 1 (b) of the Constitution. I therefore make the following order - the application by both Mr Zuma and Thales is dismissed."
Chili added that Zuma's right to a fair trial would not be affected by the absence of Thales' two key witnesses.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
43 minutes ago
- eNCA
Gaza rescuers say 37 killed in Israel attacks, as aid group reopens centres
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 37 people on Thursday, as a US-backed aid group reported it had resumed operations after a one-day hiatus. The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected the term "war" to describe the conflict in the devastated Palestinian territory, accusing Israel instead of carrying out "premeditated genocide". Gaza civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that "37 people have been martyred in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip", reporting attacks up and down the length of the territory. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Calls have mounted for a negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but indirect talks between the parties have failed to yield a breakthrough since the collapse of the last brief truce in March. "What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children," said Brazil's Lula, who has previously used the legal term to describe the conflict. "It's no longer possible to accept," he added. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has declined to use the term himself, vowed at a joint appearance with Lula to "ramp up pressure in coordination with the Americans to obtain a ceasefire". France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a United Nations conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. - Aid sites reopen - Israel has also faced mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, after it imposed a more than two-month blockade that led to widespread shortages of food and other essentials. It recently eased the blockade and has worked with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to implement a new aid distribution mechanism via a handful of centres in south and central Gaza. AFP | - But since its inception, GHF has been a magnet for criticism from the UN and other members of the aid world -- which only intensified following a recent string of deadly incidents near its facilities. The United Nations and other aid groups have declined to work with GHF, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. Reports from Gaza that dozens were killed over the course of three days as they attempted to reach the group's aid sites drew sharp condemnation. GHF shut down its distribution centres on Wednesday for what it called "reorganisation" to improve its work, but said it had reopened two of them on Thursday. "GHF can confirm that we were open for distribution today," it said in an email to AFP, adding it had delivered 1.4 million meals at two sites on Thursday and more than 8.4 million since opening a little over a week ago. Gaza rescuers and eyewitnesses implicated Israeli troops in the instances of deadly gunfire near a GHF centre in Rafah. Israel's military has maintained it does not prevent Gazans from collecting aid, but army spokesperson Effie Defrin said after one such incident on Tuesday that soldiers had fired towards suspects who "were approaching in a way that endangered" the troops. He added that the incident was under investigation. - Hostage bodies recovered - During their October 2023 attack, militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of two Israeli-Americans killed on October 7 had been recovered in Gaza and returned to Israel. AFP | Jack GUEZ "In a special operation by the Shin Bet (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist organisation Hamas were returned to Israel: Judy Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz, may their memory be blessed," Netanyahu said in a statement. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,335 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,607, mostly civilians.
eNCA
3 hours ago
- eNCA
TotalEnergies in landmark greenwashing trial in France
Environmental groups took TotalEnergies to court Thursday in a landmark Paris trial, accusing the French oil and gas giant of misleading consumers with ads that overstate its climate commitments and fossil fuel transition. It is the first such case in France targeting a major energy company and could set a legal precedent for corporate environmental advertising, which is starting to face tighter regulations in the European Union. The civil case stems from a March 2022 lawsuit by three environmental groups accusing TotalEnergies of "misleading commercial practices" for saying it could reach carbon neutrality while continuing oil and gas production. The plaintiffs took that legal route as "greenwashing", or the act of claiming to be more environmentally responsible than in reality, is not specifically covered under French law. Starting in May 2021, TotalEnergies advertised its goal of "carbon neutrality by 2050" and touted gas as "the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions". At the time, the company had changed its name from Total to TotalEnergies to emphasise its investments in wind turbines and solar panels for electricity production. The plaintiffs allege that TotalEnergies made around 40 "false advertisements" in their lawsuit. "For the average consumer, it is impossible to understand that TotalEnergies is actually expanding fossil fuel production," said Clementine Baldon, a lawyer for the NGOs. The company's strategy "will not help the energy transition", Baldon told the court. "It delays it, even prevents it, and it contributes to putting the objectives of the Paris accord at risk," she added, referring to the international agreement aimed at curbing climate change. TotalEnergies maintains it has not engaged in misleading commercial practices. Moreover, it insists that the messages are part of its institutional communications regulated by financial authorities and not consumer law. It has also argued the NGOs are misusing consumer protection rules to challenge its corporate strategy, and that no consumer organisation is party to the case. The NGOs said the Paris court will rule on the legality of ads presenting natural gas as essential to the energy transition. Climate experts say methane leaks from the gas industry have a powerful warming effect on the atmosphere. - Correcting ads - Environmental groups in recent years have turned to the courts to establish case law on companies misleading consumers by appearing more eco-friendly than they are. In Europe, courts ruled against Dutch airline KLM in 2024 and Germany's Lufthansa in March over misleading consumers about their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying. In Spain, utility Iberdrola failed to secure a conviction against Spanish oil and gas company Repsol over similar allegations of "false" environmental claims. A greenwashing case against Australian oil and gas producer Santos, challenging its claim to be a "clean fuels" company, has been ongoing since 2021. Other fossil fuel companies, under pressure from advertising regulators or legal complains, have had to scrap or correct ad campaigns. Shell, for example, received a warning in the UK and had to stop promoting "carbon-neutral" gasoline in several countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. New European laws now ban vague, generic environmental claims such as "green" or "100 percent natural" product, and aim to require brands to more strictly substantiate environmental claims on labels and in advertising. TotalEnergies has said it plans to show that its messages "about its name change, strategy and role in the energy transition are reliable and based on objective, verifiable data". By Nathalie Alonso And Ivan Couronne
eNCA
3 hours ago
- eNCA
Brazil's Lula urges Macron to seal Mercosur trade deal
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday to "finalise" an EU trade deal with four South American countries, in a visit that underscored key policy differences between the two allies. France has opposed ratifying the so-called Mercosur agreement, a trade deal between the European Union and four South American nations including Brazil, over fears a flow of lower-cost agricultural goods would outcompete Europe's farmers. "Open your heart a little to this opportunity to finalise this agreement with our dear Mercosur," Lula said during a state visit to Paris. "This agreement would be the strongest response our regions could offer in the face of the uncertainty caused by the return of unilateralism and tariff protectionism," he added, referring to sweeping tariffs imposed or threatened by US President Donald Trump. Trump, who argues that his tariffs will bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, has hit the EU with multiple waves of levies. For his part, Macron reiterated his concerns about the deal's impact on French farmers, citing differences in environmental regulations between the EU and Mercosur countries. "I don't know how to explain to my farmers that, at a time when I am asking them to comply with more standards, I am opening up my market on a massive scale to people who do not comply at all," Macron said. "Because what will happen? It won't be better for the climate, but we will completely destroy our agriculture," he added. "That is why I said earlier we must improve this deal." Germany, Spain, Portugal and others have welcomed the accord with Mercosur bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, but France has said from the start it is not acceptable in its current form. To be approved, the deal must receive the backing of at least 15 of the 27 EU states, representing a minimum of 65 percent of the population. -'Premeditated genocide'- This marks the first state visit to France by a Brazilian president since 2012, and comes just months ahead of the United Nations' COP30 climate conference, which Brazil will host in November. POOL/AFP | Christophe PETIT TESSON While both Macron and Lula praised the strong ties between France and Brazil, Thursday's press conference highlighted diverging views over the war in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lula accused Israel of carrying out "premeditated genocide" in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. "(It is) a premeditated genocide from a far-right government that is waging a war against the interests of its own people," he said at the joint press conference with Macron. While Lula has previously used the term "genocide", Macron has refused to, saying last month it was not for a "political leader to use to term but up to historians to do so when the time comes". France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a United Nations conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Macron said that he expected the conference would take steps "towards recognising Palestine", without being more specific. Brazil recognised a Palestinian state in 2010. -'Aggressor, victim'- On the war in Ukraine, Macron stressed that Kyiv and Moscow should not be treated as equals, in contrast to Brazil's proclaimed neutral stance on the conflict. "There is an aggressor, which is Russia. There is a victim, which is Ukraine. We all want peace, but we cannot treat the two belligerents equally," said Macron, stressing that Brazil had "a very important role to play" in finding a solution to the conflict. Lula said he hoped to reinforce Brazil's ties with Russia during his May 9 trip to Moscow, where he was marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany alongside some two dozen other world leaders. "My visit here is to strengthen and rebuild our strategic partnership," Lula said during a meeting where he exchanged a hug with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. The European Union warned its members not to travel to Moscow for the event. France has been one of the most vocal supporters of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. By Toni CerdÀ, Cécille Feuillatre And Erin Flanagan
