Zuma heads to top court for private prosecution

Former President Jacob Zuma has approached the Constitutional Court to get its go-ahead to privately prosecute President Cyril Ramaphosa. News24 reports that Zuma continues to hold out hope that the Constitutional Court will reverse the invalidation of his private prosecution against Ramaphosa – despite multiple judges ruling that his case is a baseless abuse of process. The former President initiated private prosecution proceedings against Ramaphosa on the eve of the ANC's elective conference on 15 December 2022. Zuma accused Ramaphosa of being an ‘accessory after the fact’ to another private prosecution he was pursuing against prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer SC and journalist Karyn Maughan for an alleged breach of the National Prosecuting Authority Act. Zuma also accused Downer, who is the lead prosecutor in his arms deal corruption trial, of allegedly leaking his confidential medical information to Maughan in August 2021. However, the courts have found that there was no truth to these claims. Zuma accused Rampahosa of failing to take action against Downer following his complaints against the prosecutor. During proceedings in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, representing Zuma, indicated that they had filed an appeal application in the Constitutional Court after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed Zuma's attempt to appeal the invalidation of his private prosecution against Ramaphosa. Judge Dario Dosio granted a postponement to 6 February 2025. Mpofu told the court that the SCA had dismissed their reconsideration application in May. A full Bench of the Gauteng High Court set aside Zuma's private prosecution of Ramaphosa in July last year, stating that it was unlawful and unconstitutional. Judges Mahomed Ismail, Selby Baqwa and Lebogang Modiba said Zuma had brought the private prosecution against Ramaphosa ‘for an ulterior purpose in what amounts to an abuse of this court's process’.