The French arms company Thales will not be appealing the Pietermaritzburg High Court’s dismissal of the company’s application to set aside the racketeering charge.
In it’s ruling, the court found there was no basis for Thales’s application and dismissed it with cost.
Thales and former President Jacob Zuma are facing fraud and corruption charges linked to the multi-billion rand arms deal in 1999.
Thales application to challenge racketeering charges dismissed:
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Sipho Ngwema says Thales’s decision not to appeal the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruling eliminates unnecessary delays in the criminal charge.
“Indeed Thales has informed the National Prosecuting Authority that they are not proceeding with an appeal on the racketeering challenge. Therefore that paves a way for the trial to start as soon as possible”
“We are hoping that we should be able to start with a criminal trial soon after 23 February. We hope that there will be no stumbling block, that could prevent the trial from going ahead,” adds Ngwema.
Meanwhile, Zuma and Thales will re-appear at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on March 23.
The video below is analysis of Thales’ racketeering court judgment: Ulrich Roux
