‘Zuma is our leader…the arms deal trial is a witch-hunt,’ says Shivambu [VIDEO]

New uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party member Floyd Shivambu has defended party leader Jacob Zuma saying the arms deal corruption case is a campaign against the former president.

Zuma’s corruption trial returned to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing.

However, Judge Nkosinathi Chili postponed the matter to 11 September to provide his reasons for not removing Zuma’s corruption prosecutor Billy Downer at the end of the former president’s trial.

Watch Floyd Shivambu addressing the MK party supporters outside the court

ALSO READ: Zuma says plans for 2025 trial ‘premature’ as he’ll continue fighting for Downer’s removal [VIDEO]

Trial postponed

Chili backed down from his previous decision in March when he dismissed Zuma’s second bid to remove Downer after finding that the former president failed to show that the state prosecutor’s continued presence as his prosecutor would violate his rights to a fair trial.

Shivambu, who resigned from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to join Zuma’s MK party, was present in court to support Zuma.

‘A witch-hunt’

Once proceedings adjourned, Shivambu addressed the few MK party supporters outside the court who had been singing earlier in support of Zuma.

Shivambu claimed the case against Zuma is against international law.

“Even this case that is following here, it’s against international law. You can’t put a person on trial for more than 20 years and without any solution. Once justice is delayed, it is denied. This is a witch-hunt, and it must be condemned and rejected by everyone.

“President Zuma is our leader. He will continue to be our leader. We’ve got full confidence in him.” Shivambu said.

Fight to remove Downer

Earlier, during the proceeding, Zuma’s legal team slammed plans for his 2025 arms deal trial as “premature” and confirmed that he will keep fighting for the removal of Downer.

In May, Chili confirmed that KwaZulu-Natal High Court Judge President Thoba Portia Poyo-Dlwati had allocated dates from April to September 2025 for Zuma’s trial – 20 years after he was first charged.

Despite multiple courts having rejected Zuma’s various attacks on Downer, Mpofu continued to persist with Zuma’s argument that he should be removed – and effectively contends that the only way he will agree to his trial proceeding will be if the prosecutor is gone.

Mpofu argued that the issue of the recusal or non-recusal of Downer is “obviously intertwined and interlinked” with the commencement of the trial. He said the NPA has always had the option of resuming the trial with another prosecutor

However, Downer rejected the argument, saying that it would set a very dangerous precedent if accused persons were allowed to “pick and choose” their prosecutors.

ALSO READ: Zuma’s arms deal case returns to court, but will it be delayed again?