Former president Jacob Zuma watches proceedings in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in August 2024. Picture: Screengrab
Former president Jacob Zuma plans to snub Parliament by not attending the 2025 State of the Nation Address (Sona).
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party was expected to attend Sona in Cape Town on Thursday, but according to Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi, it will not show up.
Former heads of state and presiding officers get automatic invites to the annual Sona, but Zuma has been absent from the event since stepping down from office in 2018.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the first Sona under the government of national unity (GNU) at 7 pm on Thursday at the Cape Town City Hall.
Speaking to journalists outside the City Hall precinct on Thursday morning, Manyi said the former head of state would not attend the event.
“The people that run South Africa have orchestrated that he should not be here. It was public information that there would be a fake Sona today. Judiciary must have known this, but despite them knowing this, they wanted him in court, in Pietermaritzburg today.
“So, indeed, the system hates president Zuma and ensures that he must not be here to listen to the fake address,” Manyi said.
ALSO READ: Jacob Zuma to attend his first Sona since resigning as president [VIDEO]
Zuma returned to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday to appeal the dismissal of his latest attempt to force Billy Downer’s removal from his corruption case.
In September last year, Judge Nkosinathi Chili provided reasons for denying Zuma’s request to remove Downer from the arms deal corruption case.
Chili said he was satisfied that there was merit in the submission that the grounds advanced by Zuma to remove Downer were officially dealt with in previous litigation.
“In his own words, Mr Zuma stated in his founding affidavit that he is aware that some of his atmospheric issues had already been dealt with in previous litigation, albeit in pursuit of different causes of action.”
Chili effectively said Downer would remain as a prosecutor in the former president’s arms deal corruption trial.
“Having considered all the grounds relied upon by Mr Zuma, both individually and cumulatively, I am unable to conclude that Mr Zuma’s right to a fair trial will be violated. Those are the reasons for the order I granted on 20 March 2024.”
Responding to Zuma’s attempt to challenge Chili’s decision not to remove Downer, the State argued that Zuma’s latest application or any other appeal he makes “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 in these proceedings”.
“The criminal trial can and should proceed in April 2025 with Mr Downer as the lead prosecutor,” the NPA said.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Zuma’s previous trial judge, Piet Koen, ruled that 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 for the arms deal.
ALSO READ: ConCourt dismisses Zuma’s private prosecution appeal against Ramaphosa
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