Former South Africa President, Jacob Zuma, who was jailed for contempt of court in July, has been hospitalized less than one week before he is due in court for a different graft trial.
While announcing this development, the Department of Correctional Services said in a statement that it “can confirm that former president Jacob Zuma has today, 6 August 2021, been admitted to an outside hospital for medical observation.”
Zuma is expected to attend the resumption of a long-running corruption trial on August 10.
The hearing will include a plea to strike out 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering against him in respect of the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was the country’s Deputy President.
He is alleged to have taken bribes from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.
In a different case, Zuma was given a 15-month jail sentence in late June for snubbing a commission probing state corruption under his 2009-19 presidency.
Zuma commenced his sentence on July 8 at Estcourt prison.
