South Africa’s Jacob Zuma faces corruption trial

South Africa’s former President, Jacob Zuma, is to face prosecution for 18 charges of corruption, the director of public prosecutions has confirmed.

They include more than 700 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering. He denies the charges.

Mr Zuma, 75, was forced to resign as president last month by his party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC).


He was facing his ninth no-confidence vote in parliament before he left office.

The charges against Mr Zuma relate to a 30bn rand ($2.5bn; £1.7bn) government arms deal in the late 1990s, before he became president.

The former ANC chief has always denied claims he received bribes from bidders in the deal.

Mr Zuma weathered an array of corruption allegations during his nine years in power.

In 2016, a report by South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog alleged that the billionaire Gupta family had exploited their ties with him to win state contracts.

Both the Guptas and Mr Zuma deny any wrongdoing.

The same year, South Africa’s highest court ruled that Mr Zuma had violated the constitution when he failed to repay government money spent on his private home.

An anti-corruption body found he had spent $23m (£15m) on refurbishments including a swimming pool and an amphitheatre. He has since repaid some of the money.