Realistically, how long can Zuma duck and dive his day in court?

The adage “he can run but he can’t hide” was first coined by American boxer Joe Louis in 1946.

After a four-year sabbatical occasioned by WWII, the world heavyweight champion was returning to the ring to square off against familiar rival Billy Conn.

When they first encountered one another some five years earlier, Louis had come within a hair of losing his title to Conn. For the first 12 rounds of that inaugural fight, Conn successfully managed to duck and dive Louis’ blows – even getting in a number of devastating hits himself.

In the 13th round, though, things fell apart for Conn. Louis eventually wound up knocking out Conn and hanging on to his title in the process – but only just.

Ahead of their rematch all those years later, reporters at a press conference asked Louis how he planned on beating Conn this time around. He replied: “He can run, but he can’t hide.”

They’re words which today we often associate with criminals – or at least alleged criminals.

But 16 years after former president Jacob Zuma was first charged over the multimillion-rand arms deal and with the trial still not yet off the ground one can’t help but think that maybe he can hide.

Zuma’s been dodging the authorities for almost two decades.

His former financial advisor, Schabir Shaik, was first charged with corruption in 2003 and after he was found guilty in 2005, the state went after Zuma. The case wound up being struck from the roll the following year, though, after a series of delays.

It was reinstated but then in 2009 and in the wake of the spy tapes saga the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew the charges.

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned that decision and in 2018 the case was again reinstated and Zuma again summoned to court.

Three years later, D-Day should this week finally have arrived. But Zuma has once again managed to push it back, launching an 11th-hour bid to get state advocate Billy Downer kicked off the case. Zuma has claimed Downer doesn’t have the authority to prosecute him.

His advocate, Thabani Masuku SC, was on Monday adamant it was in fact not another delaying tactic and that his client was ready to proceed to trial.

But Downer’s been the lead prosecutor on the protracted case since the very beginning and so it’s a curious position for Zuma, especially now.

So yes, at some point you have to start thinking that maybe he can hide. The latest postponement granted to Zuma is a brief one – only until next Thursday – but realistically speaking it’s also unlikely to be the last.

Eventually, though, we must have faith the chickens will come home to roost.

Louis and Conn’s second fight in 1946 turned out to be a far easier win for Louis and he ended up knocking Conn out in the eighth round. Turns out, he was right: Conn could run, but he couldn’t hide.

Let’s hope that ultimately the same proves true for Zuma.