Johannesburg

As former South African president Jacob Zuma's corruption trial was scheduled to commence at the Pietermaritzburg High court on Tuesday, his foundation said it would be postponed, calling the move disappointing.

In a statement, the Jacob Zuma Foundation accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) which is prosecuting in the case of not being ready for the start of the trial.

"The Jacob Zuma Foundation notes as a result of the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) unreadiness to proceed with the trial against the former president, there will be no court appearance on 8 September," it said.

For too long, the NPA together with the media accused the former president of applying delaying tactics, the foundation said.

"Yet, it is the NPA that is not ready to proceed when President Zuma calls upon it to present its case against him," the foundation added.

Zuma and French arms company Thales face charges of fraud, corruption, and racketeering linked to a multi-billion-rand arms deal.

An application by Thales to challenge racketeering charges against it was expected to cause further delays in the matter.

"Our courts should remove the matter from the roll until the NPA and Thales have finalized their dispute. The Foundation calls upon courts to be fair and independent regardless of the antipathy of certain sections of our society on president Zuma," said the foundation.