The former president of South Africa Jacob Zuma is 80 years old, and he appears to be relying on familiar tactics to delay his legal proceedings.

On Thursday, he commenced his trial to face 783 charges related to corruption, fraud, money laundering, and kickbacks in a 1990s arms deal.

His legal team sought to remove the lead prosecutor, Billy Downer, despite this matter having been settled by higher courts previously.

With a new judge presiding over the case after the previous judge recused himself in January, the issue of Zuma's attempt to replace lead prosecutor Billy Downer came up during the Pietermaritzburg High Court session.

This issue had been previously dismissed, and Zuma's subsequent appeals had also been unsuccessful.

Zuma's team argued that their renewed application to remove Downer, based on allegations of impartiality, was not another instance of Zuma's well-known "Stalingrad defense," a strategy of raising multiple legal issues to delay proceedings.

Zuma's determination to remove Downer, who had successfully prosecuted Zuma's friend and former "financial advisor" Shabir Shaik on similar charges in 2006, was supported by Zuma's claim that he had lodged a "final appeal" with the Constitutional Court challenging earlier rulings that upheld Downer's right to prosecute.

Although legal experts view the dispute over Downer's role as irrelevant to the strength of the state's case against Zuma, it must be resolved before the actual trial can proceed.

Zuma had previously attempted to privately prosecute Downer and legal journalist Karyn Maughan for allegedly leaking and publishing his medical condition. The Constitutional Court dismissed this case, ruling it unlawful. Nevertheless, Zuma's legal team returned to the issue of Downer's alleged bias.

For those following Zuma's legal issues, the renewed effort to remove Downer from the prosecution team appeared reminiscent of arguments made two years ago to the previous trial judge.

Dali Mpofu, representing the former president, argued that the matter had become "live" again after the Constitutional Court's involvement, necessitating the new judge's assessment.

In response to the repeated arguments against Downer, the state expressed concern about allowing a "festival of Stalingrad tactics," suggesting Zuma's intent to oppose every state prosecutor in the future.

Jacob Zuma, who served as South Africa's president from 2009 to 2018, has pleaded not guilty to charges of accepting bribes from French defense contractor Thales. These charges date back nearly 25 years and include fraud, corruption, racketeering, and money laundering. If found guilty, he could face a 15-year jail term, similar to that of Shabir Shaik.