An opposition
attempt to impeach South Africa's President Zuma earlier this month failed
because they simply do not have the numbers.
The president would take note only
if voters rose up against him - local elections later this year will be the
real indication of whether any ground has shifted. But until then, he and the
ANC see these court battles as attempts by a few to force him from power
undemocratically.
South
Africa's President Zuma should face corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal,
the High Court has ruled.
The charges
were dropped just weeks before the 2009 election which led to Jacob Zuma
becoming president.
Ruling on the
case brought by the opposition Democratic Alliance, the judge said the decision
to drop the charges was "irrational".
The National
Prosecuting Authority (NPA) now has to decide if it wants to reinstate the
charges.
Mr Zuma
always denied the allegations which are linked to the government arms deal
worth billions of dollars.
Last week, a
judge-led commission of inquiry found no evidence of corruption or fraud by any
government officials at the time.
"Today
is a great victory for the rule of law and ultimately we believe that Jacob
Zuma must face prosecution and this judgement certainly affirms the view that
we've always held," Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said after
the ruling.
"I congratulate
my colleagues who've worked exceptionally hard on this case; it's been a long
battle."
This may be
the latest in a series of legal blows to President Jacob Zuma but it is not yet
time to celebrate for the opposition DA, which brought the case.
The NPA will
have to decide if it wants to reinstate the charges. As the judge ruled the
NPA's prosecution of this case has been heavily politicised - and it is not
clear whether it will want to take on the president.
Mr Zuma, 74,
may be under increasing pressure from opposition parties to step down but he is
not going without a fight. In spite of the knock to his public image, he still
has a place in the hearts of many in South Africa. The ruling ANC secured a
huge victory in the 2014 election - many of the votes coming from rural South
Africa where these court battles have little influence and Mr Zuma knows that.
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