Zuma judgment begins

Judge van der Merwe began handing down his judgment a little after 09:00 this morning in Court no. 4 of the Johannesburg High Court.  Judge van der Merwe started by thanking the interpreter in Zulu for his work.  Zuma was told that he could sit for the duration of what promises to be a lengthy judgment.

Before dealing with the charges themselves, Judge van der Merwe addressed the role of the media and organisations that had been particularly vocal during the trial.  He noted that Zuma had been found guilty or not guilty by many of these organisations at various stages throughout this matter and that it was unfortunate that they did so without the benefit of the evidence that was presented by both legal teams throughout the trial.  Judge van der Merwe pointed out that his judgment would not please everyone and that he would present his reasons for his findings in his judgment.  He also noted that times had changed and this was evidenced by the live broadcast of his judgment.  His full judgment will also be made available.  I will either link to it or make it available on this site as soon as it becomes available although I suspect this may only happen after the full judgment has been handed down.

I will post updates as often as I can throughout the judgment.

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