Jacob Zuma and Thales Corruption Trial Moves Forward After High Court Rejects Appeal Bid

Published 4 Feb 2026

by Byron Pillay

3 min read

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled in the latest legal appeal by Jacob Zuma and French arms company, Thales
Judge Nkosinathi Chili previously dismissed the pair's attempts to have the charges against them dropped
The State has also brought forward an application, asking for the trial to proceed regardless of further appeals

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French arms company Thales and Jacob Zuma’s latest legal bid have failed — French arms company Thales and Jacob Zuma sought to appeal a previous court ruling. Image: Per-Anders Pettersson/ Philippe Lopez
Source: Getty Images

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, 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 – The corruption trial against Jacob Zuma and Thales will go ahead, the Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled.

The former State president and the French arms company have been trying to get the charges of corruption, racketeering, money laundering, and fraud dropped. The charges centre around the multi-billion-rand arms deal of 1999.

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

Judge dismisses application for leave to appeal

While delivering judgment on 4 February, Judge Chili ruled against the leave to appeal the court’s earlier decision to dismiss the application to have the charges dropped.

Zuma and Thales previously sought to have the charges dropped, claiming that the prolonged delays infringed their right to a fair trial. Judge Chili previous dismiss this application and now has dismissed the appeal, saying that he didn’t think any other court would see it any other way.

“I am not persuaded that another court will find differently,” he said.

The State has now brought forward an application to proceed with trial irrespective of appeals, arguing that Zuma and Thales are employing a ‘Stalingrad’ strategy, in a bid to delay proceedings.

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.

Jugde dismisses Thales and Zuma's application to have charges withdrawn

Briefly News reported that 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 in May 2025, and in doing so, dismissed Jacob Zuma's appeal as well.