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The former president plans to participate in a corruption trial that resumes long-term operations on August 10.
Former South African President Jacob Zu was sentenced to prison for contempt of court and was admitted to the hospital on Friday, less than a week after he will appear in court for a separate corruption trial.
The Correctional Services Department said in a statement, “It can be confirmed that former President Jacob Zuma has been sent to an outside hospital for medical observation today, August 6, 2021.”
Zuma, 79, plans to participate in a review of a long-standing corruption trial on August 10.
The hearing will include a request to withdraw 16 allegations of fraud, embezzlement and extortion against him related to the purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms companies when he was vice president in 1999.
He was accused of taking bribes from one of the companies, the French defense giant Thales, who was charged with corruption and money laundering.
For more than a decade, litigation procedures have been delayed repeatedly, triggering accusations of delaying tactics.
In another case, Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison in late June for neglecting the commission investigating national corruption during the 2009-19 presidency.
He began serving his sentence in Estcourt Prison in the eastern part of the country on July 8.
Zuma’s legal team used a range of reasons to decline the invitation to testify, including suspected prejudice, preparations for corruption trials, and medical issues.
The former leader traveled to Cuba last year to receive treatment for an undisclosed disease.
No reason was given for being hospitalized on Friday, just because of “routine observation.”
Last month, Zuma had been released from prison for 24 hours to attend his brother’s funeral.
His imprisonment triggered a wave of violence and robbery in his hometown of KwaZulu-Natal and the financial capital of Johannesburg.
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