Cape Town — Former President, Jacob Zuma will appear before the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) High Court where Judge Nkosinathi Chilli is expected to deny his bid to have Advocate, Billy Downer, removed from his arms deal corruption case.
Zuma has been involved in a back-and-forth with Downer to get him removed from the case. He made his first application in March but was denied by Judge Chilli.
According to SABC News, Judge Chill said he would give his reasons once the trial has ended, but Zuma’s legal team has asked for the reasons to be made available now. Zuma, who is in court on fraud and corruption charges over an arms deal with French company, Thales, believed that Billy Downer was not fit to handle the corruption case, and his legal team argued that Downer was not impartial.
They had also pushed for a private prosecution against Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan over the alleged leaking of a doctor’s letter. Zuma has lost all his court battles so far.
[WATCH] Former President Jacob Zuma’s arms deal case returns to court. The judge presiding over the arms deal trial will explain why he dismissed Zuma’s second bid to remove prosecutor Billy Downer from the case. Newzroom Afrika’s @ZiyandaNgcobo has more. pic.twitter.com/ckr2xQiSf2
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 11, 2024
As reported by The Citizen, Chilli had backed down from his decision in March when he had dismissed Zuma’s bid, after he found that he had failed to show that Downer’s presence in the trial would violate his rights. Chilli’s decision to give his reasons could boost Zuma’s campaign to push for Downer’s removal.
If Chilli lets Zuma continue his appeals, the judgement would have to ignore the rulings made by three of his colleagues and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). It was found that his attempts to privately prosecute Downer were an example of his ‘Stalingrad’ strategy.
Despite multiple courts having rejected Zuma’s various bids against Downer, Mpofu continued to persist with Zuma’s argument that he should be removed – and effectively contends that the only way he will agree to his trial proceeding will be if the prosecutor is gone.
The case has been delayed by Zuma’s repeated efforts to remove Billy Downer.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
