Since he was first indicted in the Arms Deal case in 2005, former president Jacob Zuma is yet to have his ‘day in court’ thanks to the Stalingrad tactics of his legal defence team, trying to boot out leading State prosecutor Billy Downer.
The National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed that the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal has issued former president Jacob Zuma with acertificate, allowing him to pursue a private prosecution against State prosecutor Billy Downer.The former president is seeking to have Downer removed from the trial in terms of Section 106 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and contends that should he be successful, he will be entitled to an immediate acquittal in terms of Section 106.
Zuma has accused Downer of lacking “independence and impartiality” and therefore being unable to conduct a “lawful prosecution” that will uphold his constitutional rights to a fair trial.certificate is issued to a party that has an interest in pursuing private prosecution when the prosecuting authority has declined to prosecute in a particular case.
While Zuma’s team have the right to pursue private prosecution, the NPA said, “The NPA will support advocate Downer in defending himself against what we consider to be an abusive private prosecution.” The NPA confirmed that Downer would continue to lead the prosecution team against Zuma and co-accused arms company Thales and was focused on ensuring that the trial against Zuma and Thales resumed on 15 August 2022.can be used as more ammunition for Zuma’s legal team to stall his Arms Deal case , but Zuma’s team has to pursue a private prosecution because the DPP refused to prosecute.“[
NPA head Shamila Batohi] knew that this was an abuse of process, because she knew that, without this certificate, we’re not able to do private prosecution,” said“And by us not being able to do private prosecution, she can keep Downer artificially clean.”lacking “independence and impartiality” and therefore being unable to conduct a “lawful prosecution” that will uphold his constitutional rights to a fair trial.
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