Cape Town – Judge Nkosinathi Chili on Wednesday dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s application to have advocate Billy Downer removed from his prosecution team, saying that all grounds for recusal had already been addressed and dismissed by other courts.
Judge Chili found no violation of Zuma’s right to a fair trial with Downer on the team and noted that previous attempts by Zuma to remove Downer were deemed an abuse of process by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
“In his own words, Mr Zuma stated in his founding affidavit that he is aware that some of his atmospheric issues had already been dealt with in previous litigation, albeit in pursuit of different causes of action,” The Citizen quoted Chili as saying.
[WATCH] Judge Nkosinathi Chili dismisses former president Jacob Zuma’s argument that he cannot be tried by prosecutor Adv. Billy Downer because Zuma is also taking him to court. Chili says Zuma is not currently pursuing any charges against Downer, so this cannot be used as a… pic.twitter.com/82adRMVQxe
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 11, 2024
He added: “Whichever way they may have been construed in just previous litigation, they are now invoked merely to demonstrate that the overall atmosphere is sufficiently poisoned and too toxic to permit for any fair trial if Mr Downer is a prosecutor in the public prosecution threat against me.’.”
Zuma’s legal team plans to appeal the ruling, requesting that the matter be heard by a full bench of the Pietermaritzburg High Court, SABC reported.
Legal expert Lwazi Gwacela indicated that this appeal will halt pre-trial proceedings. Zuma faces charges of fraud and corruption alongside French arms company Thales, linked to South Africa’s 1990s arms deal.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
