Judge Piet Koen has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s legal challenges and appeals about his continued prosecution.
The application for leave to appeal concerned Zuma’s failure to persuade the court that state advocate Billy Downer, SC, should recuse himself from prosecuting in Zuma’s case.
Judge Koen said he saw no prospects of success even if the matter was heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal, and ruled that Zuma’s corruption hearing must go ahead in April.
Zuma wants to be granted permission to approach the Supreme Court of Appeal, to force Downer out as the lead prosecutor in his arms deal corruption trial.
In October 2021, Judge Koen dismissed Zuma’s application, among other reasons, because it was wrongly filed and most of the arguments he raised had been previously dealt with by other courts.
Zuma is accusing Downer of bias against him and of having acted unlawfully on several occasions while handling confidential information. In his long arguments, Zuma also accused Downer of previously leaking information about his corruption trial to third and unauthorised parties, including CIA spies and some local media houses. Zuma also accused Downer of leaking his confidential medical report to a journalist.
Even if Judge Koen turns Zuma down, the former president can directly petition the Supreme Court of Appeal to hear the matter.
Only a small crowd was present, probably because Zuma wasn’t there in person, but Carl Niehaus, Mzwanele Manyi and Thobani Zuma, the former deputy mayor of uMsunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) were in attendance.
Security personnel came out in their numbers to secure the court’s vicinity, including a battalion from the SAPS who came in vans and Nyala armoured vehicles to cordon off the area.
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