An overdue reckoning? It's more than just Jacob Zuma on trial and it's about more than the bribery scandal involving French arms maker Thales. Opening day in court comes more than 20 years after the case was first opened. We ask about the specifics of a deal that led to the conviction of a Zuma former advisor in 2004, long before he became South Africa's president. Any trial of a former head of state is always a test for a nation's institutions.
State capture scandals have pushed Zuma into retirement, but he still has a loyal following that claims it is a political witch-hunt. This one comes against the backdrop of an internal power struggle within the same ANC that has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid. Which way for accountability and democracy under President Cyril Ramaphosa?
Thales, the French company at the heart of the scandal, claims that we are talking about the practices of a bygone era of relations between France and Africa. Coincidence of the calendar: it just so happens that Emmanuel Macron touches down on Friday for a state visit. The French president has been eager to show he is of a new generation when it comes to dealing with the continent. How will he fare on the ground?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.
