Zuma arms deal trial judge urged to end ‘serial abuse’ of courts

Jacob Zuma’s arms deal corruption trial judge, Nkosinathi Chili, has been urged to end the former president’s “serial abuse” and Stalingrad strategy by proceeding with trial.

This is amid Zuma’s persistent attempts to force the removal of prosecutor Billy Downer.

Although the State’s case against Zuma was declared trial-ready three years ago, the matter has been delayed by repeated efforts to have prosecutor Billy Downer removed.

In September, Zuma’s lawyer unsuccessfully protested his arms deal corruption trial date, which remains set for April 2025.

State prosecutor Billy Downer emphasised the State’s intention to ensure Zuma finally goes on trial.

Exception to proposal

During proceedings, Zuma’s advocate, Nqaba Buthelezi, argued that his client took “exception” to the proposed trial dates.

“We obviously now have to take exception to the proposal, the dates for next year April remain reserved simply because of the absurdity of a proposal.”

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This objection stems from Zuma’s ongoing effort to appeal Judge Chili’s decision that it was not in the interests of justice to force Downer to step down.

Trial should proceed

Responding to Zuma’s attempt to challenge Chili’s decision, the State maintained that any appeal application Zuma might make “will not suspend the operation and implementation of this court’s dismissal of his application for the removal of Mr Downer as the public prosecutor”.

“The criminal trial can and should proceed in April 2025 with Mr Downer as the lead prosecutor,” the NPA stated.

This, it said, was because previously Judge Piet Koen had ruled the former president’s attempt to appeal the dismissal of his “special plea” application for Downer’s removal could only be decided if and when he was convicted, News24 reported.

Buthelezi argued that should Zuma fail in his second attempt to force Downer’s removal, after trying and failing to privately prosecute him, he would again seek to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). This would be the same appeal litigation strategy that resulted in his arms trial being repeatedly delayed since it was reinstated in 2018.

Chili rejected Buthelezi’s suggestion that the trial be postponed indefinitely and scheduled the hearing of Zuma’s leave to appeal application for 6 February next year.

That is two months before the scheduled start of Zuma’s trial.

‘Interests of justice’

In papers filed in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg last week, the NPA said it would be inimical to the interests of justice for Zuma to again be allowed to delay the trial by trying to appeal Chili’s decision.

Chili said Zuma’s request for the removal of Downer as public prosecutor is “anchored” on a private prosecution of Downer.

“It was argued that if Mr Downer were to prosecute Mr Zuma today and then be prosecuted by Mr Zuma the next day, society would make a mockery of our justice system. If that were the position, then I would not have hesitated to grant an order removing Mr Downer as the public prosecutor.

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“But that is not the position as things stand, there is no private prosecution. All attempts by Mr Zuma to prosecute Mr Downer have been unsuccessful.

“I might just add that at the date of the hearing of the argument in the present application, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) had already made a factual finding that the attempt by Mr Zuma to prosecute Mr Downer amounted to an abuse of process,” Chili added.

Private prosecution

Chili was referring to Zuma having Downer prosecuted for allegedly leaking his medical records to journalist Karyn Maughan.

Zuma initiated a private prosecution against Downer and Maughan over sharing public court documents, including a medical note, in September 2022.

However, Zuma suffered yet another defeat in a series of appeals after the SCA dismissed his bid to privately prosecute Downer and Maughan.

Stalingrad strategy

Should Chili have allowed Zuma to continue his appeals, the judgment would have had to ignore the rulings given by three of his colleagues in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

The justices found that Jacob Zuma’s attempt to privately prosecute Advocate Billy Downer was yet another example of his abusive ‘Stalingrad’ litigation strategy.

“The facts of the present case show that, far from serving the interests of justice, a piecemeal appeal against this court’s dismissal of [Zuma’s] application for the removal of Mr Downer would be inimical to the interests of justice,” the NPA now stated in court papers.

“The fundamental reason for that is his application for the removal of Mr Downer was a step in or part of [Zuma’s] ‘Stalingrad’ litigation strategy, the implementation of which entails the serial abuse of the process of this and other courts, largely by rehashing points which have already been decided against him, in an attempt to avoid or further delay the start of the criminal trial on the merits of the charges against him”.

Charges

While the former president has again argued Downer should be removed because he (Zuma) believed him to be “biased” against him, the NPA said case law made it clear prosecutors were not expected to be unbiased in their perceptions of those they put on trial.

Zuma, alongside French arms company Thales, faces multiple charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering linked to the multi-billion rand defence procurement project in 1999 as well as fraud and tax evasion, linked to his alleged corrupt relationship with his former financial advisor, Schabir Shaik.

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