Zuma and Thales face new blow as court dismisses arms deal appeal bid

The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that there were no compelling reasons to grant leave to appeal in the arms deal matter involving former President Jacob Zuma.

The former president and French arms company Thales incurred another legal blow on Wednesday after the court dismissed their application for leave to appeal a ruling previously handed down against them.

The leave to appeal application was the latest bid by Zuma and Thales to have the charges against them dropped.

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In June, they argued that two of their key witnesses had died and they would not be guaranteed a fair trial.

However, the court dismissed the application, with Judge Nkosinathi Chili ruling they had a case to answer.

The High Court said it did not believe there were prospects of success for an appeal of the ruling.

This means that if the former president does not approach the Supreme Court of Appeal for special leave, evidence will finally be heard in the arms deal matter, 27 years after the alleged crime.