A South African judge postponed the graft trial of former deputy president Jacob Zuma on Monday, enraging his supporters and further clouding the popular politician's presidential hopes. Zuma, 64, one of South Africa's most charismatic leaders, was sacked by President Thabo Mbeki last year amid an arms procurement scandal.
His hopes of succeeding Mbeki, who leaves office in 2009, hinge on the outcome and speed of the trial. Prosecutors had already asked for the trial be postponed until 2007 to allow them more time to prepare. On Monday, Zuma asked for the case be dismissed or allowed to proceed swiftly.
Presiding Judge Herbert Msimang, however, ordered the lawyers to submit briefs in the coming weeks and adjourned the case until September 5. The adjournment prompted sharp criticism from Zuma supporters, who gathered in their thousands outside the high court in Pietermaritzburg, a sleepy town in the heartland of Zuma's ethnic Zulu base. "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied", read one placard, a reference to the defence argument that Zuma's constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated.
Zuma, who remains deputy president of the ruling African National Congress party, echoed this when he climbed onto a makeshift stage after the hearing and accused the prosecution of stalling. "They had enough time to prepare," he said.
Then, to the delight of the crowd, Zuma began dancing and singing "Bring me my machine gun", the anti-apartheid struggle era song that has become his signature rallying cry.
Once seen as the frontrunner to succeed Mbeki, Zuma's troubles began last year after he was accused of having a corrupt relationship with former aide Schabir Shaik and of accepting a bribe from French arms company Thint. Shaik was convicted of corruption and is appealing. Zuma denies the charges as does Thint, which is also in the dock in Pietermaritzburg.
Zuma's woes increased when he was charged with raping a family friend. He was acquitted at a trial in May, but not before critics began writing his political obituary.
Zuma's followers, mostly from the left wing of the ANC, its trade union and communist allies and the Zulu community, are determined to see him at the helm after Mbeki. Many on the left see Mbeki as too close to big business and believe that the charges against Zuma are part of a conspiracy within the ANC to prevent Zuma from taking over the party leadership at a congress in 2007.
Whoever becomes leader of the ANC next year is virtually guaranteed to lead the country when Mbeki steps down - the party has held an electoral stranglehold over the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.
But the controversy surrounding Zuma has damaged the ANC and strained its alliance with its trade union and communist partners. Mbeki acknowledged this month that the split had plunged the party into its worst crisis in its 94-year history.
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