Ramaphosa welcomes decision on Zuma’s private prosecution

President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the Johannesburg High Court’s decision to set aside Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution against him on Wednesday, 5 July. Zuma was also hit with a cost order –the second court defeat for the former president in recent weeks.

COURT SETS ASIDE JACOB ZUMA’S PRIVATE PROSECUTION

As previously reported, the High Court found that the nolle prosequi certificates Zuma used to summon Ramaphosa did not apply to him.

Zuma alleged that Ramaphosa was an accessory after the fact in his case against NPA prosecutor Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan.

Zuma accused Downer of leaking medical information to Maughan. Ramaphosa was drawn into the case on the eve of the ANC’s elective conference in December 2022 for allegedly failing to act on Zuma’s complaint about the leak.

Ramaphosa said he had informed Justice Minister Ronald Lamola of Zuma’s complaint and asked him to look into the matter.

Last month, the Pietermaritzburg interdicted Zuma’s private prosecution of Downer and Maughan and ordered him to pay their legal costs. The events that unfolded in the Johannesburg court on Wednesday were a repeat.

RAMAPHOSA WELCOMES THE DECISION, DENOUNCING ZUMA’S LEGAL ACTION AS AN ABUSE OF COURT PROCESSES

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has noted and welcomed the judgement by the Johannesburg High Court setting aside the private prosecution instituted by former President Jacob Zuma.

“The President has always maintained that Mr Zuma’s private prosecution constituted an abuse of court processes and that it was unlawful and unconstitutional,” said Ramaphosa in a brief statement.

As previously reported, the order from Judges J Ismail, J Baqwa and J Modiba declared that the nolle prosequi certificates issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) did not apply to Ramaphosa.

“Mr Zuma’s private prosecution of Mr Ramaphosa instituted under the summons is unlawful and unconstitutional and is set aside,” read the judgement.