News24 | SCA dismisses Zuma’s second attempt to force prosecutor Downer’s removal

Former president Jacob Zuma stands accused of 18 charges of corruption, racketeering, fraud and tax evasion, linked to his allegedly corrupt relationship with his former financial advisor Schabir Shaik.

• Former president Jacob Zuma stands accused of 18 charges of corruption, racketeering, fraud and tax evasion, linked to his allegedly corrupt relationship with his former financial advisor Schabir Shaik.
• While the State’s case against Zuma was declared trial-ready five years ago, his trial has been delayed by his repeated failed efforts to force the removal of his prosecutor, Billy Downer.
• The Supreme Court of Appeal has now dismissed Zuma’s second attempt to force Downer’s removal.

Former president Jacob Zuma’s second attempt to force the removal of his corruption prosecutor, Billy Downer – who he contended was unlikely to conduct a fair trial against him after being subjected to his abusive private prosecution attempt – has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

“The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs on the grounds that there is no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard,” SCA Judges Dumisani Zondi and Baratang Mocumie ruled in a one-page order.

In his appeal application to the SCA, Zuma argued that the fact that his attempt to privately prosecute Downer and this writer for alleged violations of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act was found to be an “abuse” actually bolstered his argument for the prosecutor’s removal.

Zuma contended that Downer and this writer should face 15 years in jail over the sharing of publicly available court documents that contained a sick note from his military doctor. The SCA found this “hopeless” private prosecution was driven by Zuma’s desire to further delay his trial and to force Downer’s removal.

According to Zuma, the “fact that the SCA characterised my private prosecution as an abuse in itself creates a reasonable basis for me to apprehend that Downer, in retaliation to my alleged ‘abusive’ actions, will not conduct a fair and impartial prosecution”.

In other words, Zuma argued that – even though his private prosecution of Downer was found to be an abusive attempt to force the advocate’s removal and thereby delay his trial – this abusiveness was in itself a basis to recuse the prosecutor.

The SCA has now rejected that argument.

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