The Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s bid to remove Billy Downer as the state prosecutor. The judgement comes after the court had previously ruled against the former president, dismissing the allegations that Downer is biased.
Judge Koen laid down the judgement today saying, the application for leave to appeal to supreme court of appeal is also dismissed. The judge found no reasonable grounds that Downer was biased and finds that the leave to appeal lacks grounds of success. The trial is set to begin on the 11th of April 2022 at 10h00.
This judgement comes after Jacob Zuma’s first attempt to remove Downer had failed. The state opposed Zuma’s application to take his failed special plea to the Supreme Court of Appeal on the grounds that, by law, he can only appeal once the trial has commenced and he is either acquitted or convicted.
In October 2021 judge Koen dismissed the special plea stating that all the reasons made by Zuma’s team were based on allegations and suspicion and not concrete evidence or facts. Today’s ruling is a killer blow to the former president as the judgement is still the same as it was laid out last year. Zuma was seeking leave to appeal the court judgement that there is no conflict of interest, and that Downer is fit to prosecute the former president. The former president faces charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering.
Source: News24, ENCA, Daily Maverick, Image from Eyewitness News
