By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg sat for less than a minute on Thursday where the private prosecution matter was launched by former President Jacob Zuma against state advocate Billy Downer and News24 legal journalist Karyn Maughan.
Last September, Zuma served the two with summonses to appear in court for private prosecution.
Zuma claimed they breached the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act when the state “leaked” a doctor’s note which was filed with the court as part of Zuma’s corruption trial with Maughan.
The private prosecution comes off the back of the NPA having taken a decision not to prosecute the matter, describing Zuma’s claims as meritless.
Both Downer and Maughan launched applications to review and set aside the summonses they were served with. They made a brief appearance in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday morning.
Those applications were set down to be heard next month.
However the case was postponed to 4 August for pending matters, including Maughan and Downer’s application to have the private prosecution struck off the court roll.
Zuma was in high spirits in court, joined by his daughter and others. There were no supporters outside court.