Word: zuma
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...politician generally viewed as South Africa's President-in-waiting was back in court, Monday, for another round in his battle against corruption charges. As lawyers for Jacob Zuma tried to persuade a judge to dismiss as unlawful a total of 16 charges, ranging from money-laundering to racketeering, some 1,000 supporters staged a noisy rally in front of a giant TV screen outside the court in Pietermaritzburg. The hearing is expected to last two days, but the case itself will most likely drag on well beyond next April's elections - in which Zuma, having trounced current president Thabo...
...Zuma's legal difficulties are, in part, a reflection of the bitter power struggle that erupted inside the ruling ANC after the retirement of South Africa's first post-apartheid president, Nelson Mandela. Mbeki succeeded Mandela when he retired in 1998, with Zuma as his deputy, but the two became estranged over a variety of political issues and allegations of corruption against Zuma. In 2005, Mbeki fired Zuma as Deputy President.The following year, Zuma found himself facing separate criminal charges of rape and corruption. His supporters claimed the charges were fabricated by his political enemies, and Zuma was acquitted...
...despite the support of the country's dominant political party, Zuma's path to power may not be an easy one. Days after his election as party president, government prosecutors filed a new corruption case against him, though related to the previous allegations. The most serious allegation he currently faces is that he solicited an annual bribe of $43,500 dollars from French arms company Thint, to protect it during an investigation into a controversial arms deal...
...revival of the graft case has spurred some Zuma supporters to hysterical defenses of their man. ANC Youth League President Julius Malema even declared that he would "kill" for Zuma. The power struggle between his supporters and those of Mbeki has been immensely damaging to a party whose moral authority as a liberation movement has plunged in its era of governance, buffeted by corruption scandals, an inability to tackle rising crime and unemployment, and the unseemly spectacle of some its core members and backers becoming billionaires while much of the country remains mired in poverty. At the weekend, former...
...Hopes that Zuma might provide stronger leadership on pivotal issues for the continent were not boosted by his performance at the conference. He called food prices "a time bomb" that governments could do little about - a limp response when 30 million Africans face hardship if more food is not grown and sold at affordable prices...