Zuma’s Appeal Denied by Pietermaritzburg High Court, Judge Koen Dismisses All Challenges

• Judge Koen dismissed former president Jacob Zuma's appeal to remove advocate Billy Downer from his arms deal trial
• Zuma and his legal team believe that Downer and the National Prosecuting Authority have mistreated the former president throughout his trial
• Koen accused Zuma of distracting the court in an effort to delay his trial further but is adamant it must resume

PIETERMARITZBURG - Today (16 February), former president Jacob Zuma appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to appeal that Billy Downer, a state prosecutor, be removed from his arms deal trial.

Zuma alleges that Downer and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have treated him unfairly since his trial began in 2005. The former president hoped that if the court agreed with his allegations, they would acquit the case altogether.

However, according to TimesLIVE, Judge Koen, who presided over today's proceedings, dismissed all legal challenges Zuma brought before the court, including his appeal bid against Downer.

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The future of Zuma's trial

Zuma's trial will continue on 11 April at 10 am. Mthunzi Mhaga, a spokesperson for the NPA, said that the authority is prepared to try the former president, and they agree with Judge Koen's decision regarding Zuma's appeal bid, News24 reports.

"This has been a premature decision, to say let's adopt a piecemeal approach when it comes to appeals. This appeal should have been brought at the conclusion of the trial, and therefore it is not in the interest of justice that we deal with an appeal on a special plea at this stage," Mhaga said.

Judge Koen concluded that Zuma must not delay or pull focus from the primary purpose of his trial, and his trial must resume without distractions.

South Africans react to the outcome of Zuma's appeal bid

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@AdvNgcukaitobi remarked:

"Lol, Zuma's daughter once praised him because he is not a biased judge."

@LyndaJane8 believes:

"The trial must just go on even if this man is not present it's absolutely ridiculous how long it's taken."

@Sam2_Mnisi predicted:

"He will wait until April, then petition the SCA."

@ThulaG_ asked:

"Is Dali Mpofu still in his defence team?"

@Sabza90936021 said:

"Take it to the Constitutional court."

Advocate Dali Mpofu claims irregular treatment for Jacob Zuma

In earlier news about this case, Briefly News previously reported that Jacob Zuma and his legal team had accused the Pietermaritzburg High Court of treating the former president irregularly. One of Zuma's legal counsel members who have made these claims is Advocate Dali Mpofu.

Mpofu argues that the court did not correctly adhere to due processes when filing the leave to appeal application. He stated that in his experience, he had not witnessed an application being conducted in the manner that the court did.

Jacob Zuma's legal team, led by Mpofu, are committed to having Billy Downer, a senior prosecutor, removed from the case due to allegations that he leaked confidential information regarding the former president's health.

Source: Briefly News