Arms deal: Zuma leave to appeal application date set

A date for judgement to be delivered in the state versus Jacob Zuma and French arms dealer Thales has finally been announced. 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed on Thursday judgement in the former president’s leave to appeal application will be heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday 16 February. 

Zuma wants state prosecutor advocate Billy Downer recused from the arms deal corruption trial, citing he lacks the independence and impartiality to oversee the trial. 

The former president faces multiple charges of fraud and corruption alongside French arms dealer, Thales, over the controversial multi-billion rand arms deal struck back when Zuma was KwaZulu-Natal MEC for economic development, in the 1990s.

ALSO READ: Zuma’s leave to appeal application not in the interests of justice, argues NPA

Zuma and a representative of Thales pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Last year, Judge Piet Koen dismissed Zuma and his legal team’s special plea to have Downer recused, prompting a resurgence of arguments, led by Advocate Dali Mpofu, last month. 

During his address, advocate Andrew Breitenbach, SC, for the state, argued, among others, the special plea was “the latest in a long line of preliminary cases brought by both of the accused which have had the effect of obstructing and delaying the start of the process”.

Mpofu, for Zuma, slapped back that his client wasn’t trying to avoid trial.

ALSO READ: Arms deal: Date set for Jacob Zuma’s Thales case

Earlier in proceedings, Mpofu argued Downer should not have been permitted to depose to an affidavit in the special plea or the current application due to, among others, Zuma’s claims that he “leaked” information to the press and the criminal charges the former president had laid against him in connection with this.

Thabani Masuku, SC, also for Zuma, pointed to allegations of political interference contained in an affidavit deposed to by former Asset Forfeiture Unit head Willie Hofmeyr.

These have since been dismissed by the courts, but Masuku criticised Koen for referring them to oral evidence, saying the former president “should not have to suffer the indignity of a cooked-up prosecution because of political manipulation”.

ALSO READ: Call our ‘bluff’, remove Downer and get on with the case – Zuma’s lawyer

Compiled by Nica Richards. Additional reporting by Thapelo Lekabe and Bernadette Wicks.