Tensions flare between Zuma’s and Maughan’s lawyers at high court

Tensions between the lawyers of journalist Karyn Maughan and that of her accuser, former president Jacob Zuma, yesterday ran high as the two parties squared up at the Pietermaritzburg high court.
Zuma is pushing for the prosecution of the journalist.

Maughan’s lawyer Advocate Steven Budlender accused Zuma’s lawyer Advocate Dali Mpofu, SC of
“unprofessional” behaviour.

Mpofu dismissed the bulk of the arguments put forward by Budlender and other lawyers opposing Zuma’s private prosecution of Maughan as “nonsensical”.

Zuma has initiated private prosecution processes against Maughan and state advocate Billy Downer
who the former president accuses of leaking details about his medical conditions to the journalist.

However, Downer — who is the lead prosecuting in Zuma’s arms deal case, and Maughan — a News24
legal journalist, are fighting back. Budlender told the court that Zuma’s private prosecution was meritless.

The case is not just weak. It is non-existent and is a mirage.
Apart from the fact that there was nothing confidential in the information “shared” with Maughan, Budlender said, the documents sent to Maughan were already public information when she published a story on them.

Sanef

Shortly before the start of yesterday’s court proceedings, a group of journalists picketed outside the
court in solidarity with Maughan.

The journalists, who are affiliated to the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) are opposed to
Zuma’s decision to privately prosecute Maughan.

Hunter, Maughan was simply doing her work and as such, should not be prosecuted.

“We are gathered in Pietermaritzburg … to say one thing and one thing alone, which is: journalism is
not a crime.

For a former president to abuse court process, to abuse his power to privately prosecute a journalist, is an attempt to criminalise journalism. All Karyn did was report on a publicly available court document filed by Zuma’s legal team in his corruption case.
Earlier yesterday, Mpofu told the full bench of judges at the Pietermaritzburg high court that by leaking Zuma’s medical information to Maughan, Downer and his National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) team representing the state in Zuma’s arms deal corruption case, have committed a “serious” offence.

According to Section 41 (6) of the NPA Act, Mpofu said, Downer and anyone found to have disclosed
information without the authorisation of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) could be handed a maximum prison sentence of fifteen years.

“It’s egregious, “Mpofu said.

Zuma’s medical information was part of documents which his lawyers sent to the Pietermaritzburg high court in 2021 while he was serving a prison sentence for defying a Constitutional Court order to appear before the Zondo Commission, which at the time was investigating corruption and state capture.

The former president had sent the information to the court as part of his explanation why he was unable to be in court for his arms deal corruption matter.

According to Mpofu, the document “leaked” to Maughan stated that Zuma had a “life-threatening”
condition.

Who leaked the information?

While the Pietermaritzburg high court has since received an affidavit confirming that it was one of the members of Downer’s team, and not him, who sent the information to Maughan, Mpofu said that was
not reason enough for stopping the private prosecution against the senior prosecutor.

The matter of who in the NPA team “leaked” Zuma’s medical information, and the role played by
Downer in the “leaking” of the report, Mpofu said, should be dealt within a “criminal trial”.

Why are we in a civil court to determine a matter which is being dealt with in criminal court?
The matter was adjourned to allow the parties to file additional statements in support of their arguments.