‘Spurious and unfounded’ – Cyril Ramaphosa rejects Jacob Zuma’s ‘criminal charges’ against him

Jacob Zuma

Cape Town – The presidency has rejected former president Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution attempt against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The Jacob Zuma Foundation on Thursday released a statement saying that Ramaphosa “has been charged in a private prosecution” as an “accessory after the fact in crimes committed by among others Advocate Billy Downer…”

The statement continued: “The serious crimes for which Mr Ramaphosa has been charged with in a court of law carry the sentence of 15 years imprisonment.

“The private prosecution has been duly instituted by H.E. President JG Zuma in the Johannesburg High Court where the accused person will make his first appearance on 19 January 2023.”

According to Times Live, the charge will likely lead to calls by Ramaphosa’s political opponents that he must “step aside” in line with the ANC’s step-aside rule and not stand for president of the ruling party.

In terms of the rule, when an ANC member is charged with a serious criminal offence, they should step aside from their position, the report said.

In response, the presidency said it rejected Zuma’s “abuse of legal processes and perversion of the ‘nolle prosequi’ (private prosecution) provision”.

It said that Zuma’s charges were based on an accusation that Ramaphosa failed to act after  Zuma complained about improper conduct by Advocates Downer and Breitenbach.

Zuma wanted Downer to recuse himself from his long-running corruption trial over a 1990s arms deal. He accused his of allegedly sharing confidential medical information with the media.

Zuma argued that Downer was neither independent nor impartial.

“These charges are completely spurious and unfounded,” the president said.

The presidency added: “In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, a private prosecution can only be instituted after the individual prosecuting has obtained a certificate of non-prosecution.

“The certificate serves as a legal confirmation that the National Prosecuting Authority (“NPA”) will not proceed with the prosecution following its consideration of the charges.

“Mr Zuma charges that President Ramaphosa is an “accessory after the fact” in a criminal offence alleged against Advocate William Downer – the allegation is that Advocate Downer improperly shared information, in terms of the NPA Act.

“President Ramaphosa promptly responded to Mr Zuma’s letter indicating steps he had taken, including referring the matter to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronal Lamola who bears the oversight responsibility over the NPA.”

“President Ramaphosa does not interfere in the work of the NPA, nor does he have the power to do so. The President responded to Mr Zuma and took appropriate and legally permissible action.”

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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