By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation has announced that the former president will lay criminal charges against State advocate Billy Downer for allegedly leaking affidavits containing his medical information.
The Foundation on Wednesday said Zuma’s legal team will be addressing the media outside the South Africa Police Service (Saps) station in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
The briefing will take place on Thursday at 1pm.
Zuma intends to take action against Downer for admitting his conduct was in breach of sections 41(6) read with 41(7) of the NPA Act.
Back in September, the National Prosecuting Authority dismissed the allegation that Zuma’s medical records were leaked by Downer.
It’s also not the first time Zuma had his sights trained on Downer, with the former president previously accusing the lead prosecutor of being part of a conspiracy to get him arrested.
Zuma accused Downer of smearing his name and providing information to the media on his arms deal corruption case.
Downer is the lead prosecutor in Zuma’s corruption trial, which also involves French arms company Thales as co-accused.
Zuma is facing 18 charges including corruption, money laundering and racketeering.
The trial over a 1999 deal was meant to start in May, but has been postponed a number of times due to legal arguments and Zuma’s unavailability.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering related to the acquisition of military equipment.
In particular he is accused of receiving kickbacks over a 1999 deal with French arms group Thales in exchange for protecting the company from investigation.