Former president Jacob Zuma’s legal team has vowed not to allow his trial to continue while Billy Downer is still lead prosecutor.
FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s legal team have vowed not to allow his trial to continue while Billy Downer was still lead prosecutor.
Zuma’s team, led by advocate Sifiso Buthelezi, who took over because of advocate Dali Mpofu’s absence, argued for the postponement pending the Constitutional Court case against Downer, after lodging an appeal against the Supreme Court decision which refused leave to appeal.
Zuma filed his court papers to the apex court to listen to his application for Downer’s recusal.
On top of that, the legal team said for the sake of its integrity, the National Prosecuting Authority should at least temporarily remove Downer since he was accused in a criminal case that Zuma laid against him.
Last week Downer and News24 legal journalist Karyn Maughan appeared in the same courtroom facing charges of leaking Zuma’s medical record which was then published by Maughan.
After Koen dismissed the case, Zuma applied to prosecute the two privately, which was granted by the NPA. The judge postponed the matter to Wednesday and promised to issue an order on the future progress of the case.
Speaking after the postponement, Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said they would never allow the former president’s trial to continue until Downer was removed.
“The NPA knows that Downer was a number one accused in a criminal case with 15 years direct imprisonment so one does not need to be a lawyer to see that it was wrong to allow such a prosecutor to preside over the case against his complainant in another matter,” said Manyi.
Manyi also said he believed that Judge Piet Koen would step aside from the trial. Judge Koen left people guessing after he adjourned the matter to Wednesday where he would issue an order on the future progress of the case.
Manyi said although he was not a legal mind, he had a feeling that the judge might say he was recusing himself from the case. He said when one listens to the judge’s words where he mentioned that he himself might be conflicted, since he was the one who dismissed Zuma’s application for the State prosecutor Downer’s recusal, one could conclude that the judge would step aside and allow another judge to take over.
Manyi said, however, that Zuma did not have a problem with a judge and there was no intention to even ask for his recusal, saying all they wanted was the recusal of Downer.
Maughan was also back to report on the case.
Their matter would be back on December 8 and 9 for their permanent stay application and had been set for trial in February pending the outcome of the accused’s application to strike the matter off the roll.
While the matter returns to court on Wednesday, Zuma would be addressing the media in Joburg as indicated by an invite by his foundation.
