Former president Jacob Zuma will be appealing the denial of his permanent stay of prosecution in his graft case, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard on Tuesday.
The state will be opposing the appeal.
Zuma was appearing on a provisional date that had been set for the first day of his fraud and corruption trial, which relates to the multi-billion rand arms deal case.
The former president has been charged alongside French arms manufacturer Thales, which is accused number two. Thales was represented by its lawyers.
The same court announced on Friday that both accused had lost their bids for permanent stays of prosecution.
Representing Zuma, Advocate Thabani Masuku informed the court that his client would be appealing the permanent stay decision.
Advocate Anton Katz, acting for Thales, said he had not yet been briefed by his client as to whether it would be appealing the decision.
Senior state prosecutor, Advocate Billy Downer SC, said at the opening that the state had always maintained it was ready for trial and reiterated this.
He said the parties had mutually agreed that papers for the appeal had to be filed by November 1 and that arguments would be made on November 22.
A provisional holding date was set for February 4, 2020.
Downer said the state wanted the trial to start in April.
Masuku said it was "heartening" to know that after a 14-year delay, the state was finally ready to proceed to trial. But, he added, Zuma would be exercising his full constitutional rights and appealing the denial of the stay.
The appearance was brief, but with a strong police presence in the courthouse and outside.
State Capture
Meanwhile, Zuma will be back to testify at the State Capture Inquiry.
He is scheduled to testify from 21st to 25th October and again from 11th and to 15th November.
- African News Agency (ANA)
