Cape Town – Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s legal team this week blamed the prosecuting authorities for delaying his 1999 multibillion-rand arms deal case by failing to remove the state’s chief justice prosecutor, Billy Downer, whom they believe is biased against Zuma.
According to IOL, Zuma and his legal team have been arguing that Downer is neither independent nor impartial since last year. As a result, they filed a motion to have him removed from the case.
However, High Court judge Piet Koen rejected Zuma’s application last year, saying that he could only appeal at the end of the trial, after the evidence has been presented.
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Zuma returned to court on Monday to continue the fight, filing a special plea to overturn the previous ruling.
In their special plea argument, Zuma’s legal team pointed out 12 instances in which they believed Downer acted improperly, as well as instances in which the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was an alleged party to political meddling in the matter, according to the SABC.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, one of Zuma’s lawyers, accused Downer of leaking a copy of Zuma’s medical report to a journalist before it was filed in court.
However, state prosecutor Advocate Wim Trengove dismissed those claims, saying that there was no evidence that Downer ever leaked confidential information to the media.
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Another state prosecutor, advocate Andrew Breitenbach, alluded to Zuma trying to avoid trial, arguing that should Zuma be granted a special plea, the trial will be delayed as it has already have been, The Citizen reported.
Mpofu retorted that his client was not attempting to avoid trial.
“He’s entitled to all the protections provided by our law, the constitution and section 106(1)(H) of the Criminal Procedure Act [under which the special plea was raised] not to be tried by a prosecutor who harbours ill feelings towards him or at least that he perceives to,” the report quoted Mpofu as saying.
Zuma faces 16 charges stemming from 783 payments allegedly received from his former financial advisor Schabir Shaik, as well as a R500 000-a-year bribe allegedly facilitated for him by Shaik from the French arms company Thales.
His special plea is expected to be decided this month.
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Picture: Twitter/ @KingMntungwa
Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
Additional reporting by AFP
