Pietermaritzburg High Court Dismisses Thales and Jacob Zuma’s Bid to Withdraw Arms Deal Charges

• French arms company Thales has lost its appeal to have charges against it withdrawn in relation to the arms deal
• Judge Nkosinathi Chili dismissed the application, and in doing so dismissed Jacob Zuma's appeal as well
• Since May 2021, when the French company was first charged, the trial has been postponed a total of 16 times

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

KWAZULU-NATAL – French arms company Thales, and Jacob Zuma’s hopes of having the arms deal charges withdrawn have been dashed.

Judge Nkosinathi Chili dismissed the application brought forward by the French company in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The application was filed in April, with Thales arguing that the case couldn't continue after the deaths of two key witnesses.

The case centres around the multi-billion-rand arms deal of 1999, with both Zuma and Thales facing charges of corruption, racketeering, money laundering, and fraud.

Judge dismisses Thales and Zuma’s application

While delivering judgment on 3 June 2025, Judge Chili stated that he did not believe the arms company would be prejudiced in any way if the State was allowed to continue with its case despite the death of the two witnesses.

The judge also ruled that Zuma’s rights to a free and fair trial would not be prejudiced by the deaths of the witnesses.

You can watch the judge’s ruling below.

Thales’ argument centres around constant delays

The French company has argued that unreasonable delays have resulted in the deaths of crucial witnesses, Alain Thétard and Pierre Moynot. Thétard and Moynot were both Thales representatives, and the company claimed that no witnesses would be able to testify in its defence because of the deaths.

Attorney Cameron Dunstan-Smith said that since May 2021, when the company pleaded not guilty to the charges, the case has been postponed 16 times due to no fault of its own. One of the major reasons for the delays is Zuma’s constant attempts to have Billy Downer removed from the case.

What you need to know about the arms deal

• The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled in January 2021 that Zuma and Thales must face trial.
• Zuma and Thales were back in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in April 2021
• The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Zuma's appeal to have Billy Downer removed in May 2022.
• A new judge was appointed to preside over the arms deal corruption trial after Judge Piet Koen recused himself.
• Zuma’s arms deal trial was delayed again as he attempted to have Downer removed in April 2023.

Zuma fails in eighth attempt to have Downer removed

In March 2025, Briefly News reported that Zuma’s latest attempt to privately prosecute Billy Downer and Karyn Maughan was rejected.

The former president has now failed eight times in his quest to secure a successful prosecution against Downer.

South Africans questioned how Zuma could afford legal fees as his appeal was rejected with costs again.

Source: Briefly News