NPA, Zuma to apply for leave to appeal reinstatement of corruption charges
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and President Jacob Zuma will today apply for leave to appeal a court ruling that corruption charges against the president be reinstated in the High Court in Pretoria.
On April 29, the full bench of the High Court in Pretoria found President Jacob Zuma should face the 783 charges of corruption.
However, the NPA and Zuma announced that they were applying for leave to appeal the high court's ruling.
If leave to appeal is granted, the matter will go to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
After a seven-year battle by the DA, the court ruled that the decision to discontinue the prosecution against Zuma should be reviewed and set aside.
On April 6, 2009, then-NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe said transcripts of telephone conversations between then-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka showed political interference in the decision to charge Zuma.
The charges were withdrawn in the High Court in Durban on April 7 2009.
In April, the court found that Zuma should indeed face corruption charges after Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba said Mpshe had come under pressure and had, therefore, decided to discontinue the prosecution against Zuma.
(File photo: Gallo Images)