Zuma demanding the 'inconceivable'

Success for former President Jacob Zuma in his special plea in the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) – in which he argues the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) must be blocked from pursuing its racketeering, corruption and tax evasion case against him – would set a precedent that would undermine future NPA prosecutions, according to a legal expert. The plea is legally unprecedented in that he also demands to be acquitted of all the charges against him without being required to stand trial. Zuma also wants the court to conduct an evidentiary inquiry into the abuses he claims to have suffered at the hands of the NPA, as well as the alleged involvement of foreign intelligence agencies in the case against him. All this is demanded by the man who previously insisted he wanted his day in court, but is now doing everything he can to avoid it. That, notes Legalbrief, is the gist of a News24 report by legal writer Karyn Maughan examining Zuma’s latest affidavit. She quotes attorney and criminal law expert Ulrich Roux as saying what Zuma was demanding was inconceivable and would create a precedent for accused people to avoid trial by contending that the NPA, a body mandated to prosecute crime, did not have the title or legal right to do so. He added Zuma was also ‘afforded the constitutional right to challenge the evidence given by the state in a trial and to argue that evidence obtained for purposes of his prosecution should be deemed inadmissible’. In other words, he said, should Zuma have evidence that prosecutorial misconduct had tainted the case against him, he could present it during his trial.

But, as Zuma's court papers make clear, he is absolutely determined not to go on trial, notes Maughan’s News24 report. Instead, he wants the High Court to conduct an evidentiary inquiry into the prosecutorial abuses he claims to have suffered ‘with a view to understanding why the NPA has acted in such a despicable manner’ toward him. He said this inquiry was necessary to disclose the impact of these alleged violations on his rights. Zuma added: ‘I want an inquiry into the extent of involvement of foreign intelligence agencies in my prosecution and more particularly in my political role, which it appears had to be neutralised by clear acts of a number of violations.’ Zuma claims that allowing the NPA to continue holding the title to prosecute him would result in society being ‘justified to believe that the NPA is entitled to use its constitutional authority to determine for it who may become President of the country or occupy a public leadership position’. ‘If Mr Downer is permitted to conduct my prosecution, that would erode the constitutional and moral authority of the NPA to perform its duties as prescribed by the law. It would mean that the NPA may be used for illicit objectives that are inconsistent with its central constitutional mission,’ he stated. ‘It will mean that the rule of law violations do not matter as long as Mr Downer believes there is evidence against me – it is irrelevant that the NPA officials have conducted criminal acts and prosecutorial misconduct in relation to my prosecution.’ Zuma wants the High Court to grant him the right to cross-examine Downer about the abuses he claims to have suffered at the hands of the state and said this inquiry would be crucial to the presentation of his special plea.

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