By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed MK Party leader Jacob Zuma’s bid to get lead prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer removed from his arms deal corruption trial.
Zuma has tried through various means to have Downer removed. First, he challenged his title to prosecute, using section 106 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Then he went for a more personal attack, choosing to privately prosecute Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan, alleging Downer leaked medical records to Maughan.
Zuma argued that Downer’s conduct has fallen short of the expected standards of the fair prosecution. Interestingly, Zuma added that Downer is conflicted because himself has chosen to privately prosecute him for leaking his medical records to Maughan.
In a concise one-page order, the judges dismissed the application with costs, effectively reinforcing earlier findings that the private prosecution was a tactical move to delay justice rather than a pursuit of legal merit.
He is accused, alongside arms manufacturer Thales, of corruption for accepting an R500,000 bribe relating to 1999 arms purchase by the government.
Earlier in the week, the Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed Zuma and Thales’ appeal of stay of prosecution, paving the way for the long-awaited trial.
Zuma and Thales applied to summarily acquitted of the arms deal corruption and racketeering charges on the basis that unreasonable delays had resulted in the deaths of crucial witnesses, Thales representative Alain Thétard and Pierre Moynot.
The arms deal case was declared trial-ready three years ago but has been delayed by Zuma’s repeated failed efforts to force the removal Downer, as part of his Stalingrad strategy.
The 82-year-old Zuma and Thales are facing multiple charges, including fraud, corruption, money laundering, and racketeering, in connection with the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal procured in the late 1990s while he was vice president.