Zuma returns to court as supporters gather
Former president Jacob Zuma is expected to sit in the dock for the second time as accused number one in the Durban High Court on Friday.
The former statesman faces 16 charges including fraud, racketeering, corruption, and money laundering relating to the so-called arms deal in the 1990s.
Hundreds of people gathered for a night vigil held at Albert Park till the early hours of Friday morning.
Zuma's backers are also expected to mobilise ahead of a march to the court.
A trial date is expected to be decided upon in the proceedings on Friday.
"He wasn't a leader because he was the president. He was a leader because of the kind of person he is, and the support he has amongst the people. You can see it every time he goes to meet with communities; those halls are packed to the brim - he is speaking as a leader, you not a leader because you called 'president'. You are a leader because you are a representative of the people and you carry them in your heart," says uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKMVA) spokesperson, Carl Niehaus.
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Zuma was hit a blow when he tried to put the case on hold until he finds clarity on who will foot his legal bill.
Opposition parties have come out guns blazing, rejecting the notion that the state must fund his case.
The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shaun Abrahams this week also turned down Zuma's request for the charges to be provisionally withdrawn.