Ex-South African president Jacob Zuma took hundreds of bribes, trial told

Former South African President Jacob Zuma, adjusts his fact mask, in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Wednesday May 26, 2021, at the start of his corruption trial. Zuma pleaded not guilty to corruption, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering at Pietermaritzburg High Court. Among other things, Zuma is accused of taking bribes from French arms company Thales to ensure that South Africa signed a multi-billion dollar arms deal with the company in 1999. (Phill Magakoe/Pool Photo via AP)

Former South African president Jacob Zuma accepted more than 700 bribes over the course of a decade before he was president, including cash payments from French arms company Thales, prosecutors said on the first day of his corruption trial.

Zuma, the president of Africa’s most developed economy from 2009 until he was forced out amid other scandals in 2018, was charged with multiple counts of corruption, as well as racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.