JOHANNESBURG: A South African court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for embattled former president Jacob Zuma after he failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing over corruption charges related to a 1990s arms deal. "The court accepts that Mr Zuma may be unwell," said judge Dhaya Pillay. "But this court needs reliable evidence that Mr Zuma is indeed ill.""It is not clear that (the doctor) is indeed a regular practitioner," she said. "We are very concerned when courts issue warrants under the circumstances like this when the whole country knows that president Zuma is not well ... indeed president Zuma underwent two operations in early January this year," Mantsha said. Mantsha vowed that the "elderly" Zuma, will attend court when he is fit, as he has done for previous hearings.

Source: New Strait Times February 04, 2020 12:45 UTC