The corruption trial of former deputy president Jacob Zuma and two co-accused French companies began in the Pietermaritzburg High Court shortly after 10am on Tuesday.
Zuma sat in the dock wearing a sombre navy suit with a red tie. He smiled and put his hands together in greeting to his supporters.
He had arrived shortly before 9am to a reception of ululation and singing from his supporters and some court staff. A mound of traditional herbs smouldered outside the court gates as he waved to supporters and hugged some.
Pierre Moynot, executive for the two Thint companies co-accused with Zuma, was also in court and shook hands with Zuma before he sat down in the dock.
Zuma is accused of having allegedly accepted a R500 000-a-year bribe from Thint in exchange for protection into the arms-deal probe.
Zuma’s legal team will try to have his corruption case thrown out of court, while the state will seek a postponement of the trial until next year. The two Thint companies will also be seeking to have their case thrown out of court.
Extra chairs were brought in to accommodate all the legal representatives in the room and large boxes of files, believed to be the documentation relating to a KPMG forensic audit, were visible.
The state said in it heads of argument filed last week that the report would be ready by September 5. It also promised that a final indictment would be available by October 15.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s application to televise the Zuma trial was postponed. Thint’s defence, led by Kessie Naidu, has asked for the application to be rejected.
Leading African National Congress provincial figures were present in the courtroom on Tuesday, including KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele and KwaZulu-Natal health minister Peggy Nkonyeni.
Congress of South African Trade Unions secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi arrived shortly before proceedings started.
Outside the court, the crowd of supporters and onlookers had swelled to about 6 000, said metro police spokesperson Dumisani Phini. One of Durban’s top club DJs, Siyanda, in a white suit and shirt, was among those attending.
Earlier, Zuma supporter ”Ma Mkhize” and four other women entertained the crowd with their dance moves and ululation on Church Street. They carried a banner saying: ”Jacob Zuma — the people’s choice”. It also read: ”No 1 — Mbeki come and testify and clear Zuma”.
A vendor outside the court, Masosha Mbambo, said he and his fellow business people were not sure what to expect. ”Last time we lost a lot of money as police chased us away from the court. Today [Tuesday] we are not sure if Zuma supporters would actually buy or if they will get violent,” said Mbambo, who sells snacks and drinks.
In August, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that Zuma, as former head of the moral regeneration movement, should withdraw as a potential presidential candidate after having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman half his age.
He also criticised him for not controlling his supporters at his Johannesburg High Court rape trial earlier this year.
The crowd outside the Pietermaritzburg court was urged on Monday night by the provincial leadership of the tripartite alliance to ”behave” and not to give Tutu a ”reason to preach”.
KwaZulu-Natal ANC Youth League leader Nhlakanipho Ntombela said: ”You should exercise the maximum discipline and let us not give people like Tutu something to preach us about.”
He told the cheering crowd at the night vigil that the ANC’s leaders would be chosen by party structures ”and not bishops, media and political analysts”. — Sapa