Jacob Zuma’s Application Denial of Downer As Public Prosecutor Explained, SA Has Their Say Too

• Judge Nkosinathi Chili has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s appeal to remove Advocate Billy Downer as prosecutor
• The arms deal matter was back in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday, 11 September 2024
• The court heard the reasons for not dismissing Billy Downer as lead prosecutor, South Africans reacted

PIETERMARITZBURG— The judge denied Mr Zuma's request to remove Mr Downer as the lead prosecutor and explained the reasoning behind the decision

The judge made an order on 20 March 2024 dismissing Jacob Zuma’s application for removal of the prosecutor. He was then allowed to appeal.

The judge held today’s proceedings to explain why the plea was denied.

4 Pillars on which Zuma appealed removal of Downer

1. The private prosecution of Mr Downer
2. Nature of the charges levelled against Mr Downer, described as the information leaking incident of 2021
3. The nature of the charges about the information-leaking incident in 2008
4. Further and additional considerations that have the effect of disqualifying Mr Downer

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Mr Zuma stated that only one of the above would be enough to justify granting the relief. All these grounds provide an insurmountable hurdle to Mr Downer’s intended role as lead prosecutor or public prosecutor.

Judge Chili denied the four above pillars and clarified them. We can expect a return to court in late January 2025.

Mzanzi reacts to Jacob Zuma’s return to court

South Africans always have a reasonable opinion on legal situations and sprinkle some humour in for good measure.

@LesetjaMagongwa is not going to hold his breath on this one:

"I love how umSholozi is working the law against the law, brilliant. By the looks of things, every court case against him will take a lifetime to conclude😊"

@sthabiso_za knows the judge is in for a lengthy trial:

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"This judgment must be appealed and application for the judge to recuse himself 🤦🏾‍♂️😂"

@Monare99 believes it is the season for appealing appeals:

"Now Zuma’s legal team must go to appeal court to consider Judge Chilli not fit, biased and a constitutional deficient."

@Sentletse says Zuma is working the system:

"For a man who professes innocence, Zuma is doing everything to avoid clearing his name of corruption allegation.Very telling! Seasoned crook."

Jacob Zuma demands reasons why plea was dismissed

Briefly News reported in a related article that former President Jacob Zuma’s legal team sought clarification on why the judge overseeing his arms deal trial rejected his special plea. Judge Nkosinathi Chilli denied ZuZuma’s request to have Advocate Billy Downer removed as the prosecutor.

Advocate Downer responded that the judge had already provided his reasoning for refusing Zuma’s request to disqualify him from the case.

Source: Briefly News