Court to rule whether or not to postpone Zuma’s corruption trial

The High Court in Pietermaritzburg will rule on whether or not to postpone former president Jacob Zuma’s arms deal corruption trial.

This is pending Zuma’s application for leave to appeal in the Constitutional Court against Judge Piet Koen’s dismissal of his special plea for the recusal of lead prosecutor, Advocate Billy Downer.

Zuma will know if his fraud and corruption case will proceed amid his application for leave to appeal in the Constitutional Court.

On Monday, the state asked the court not to postpone the trial.

Downer argued that Zuma was supposed to appeal Judge Koen’s ruling 15 days after dismissing his special plea, referring to the move as delay tactics.

However, Zuma’s legal team argued, that Monday had simply been a holding date.

Representing Zuma, Advocate Sfiso Buthelezi told Judge Piet Koen that his client had no intention of making a postponement application.

Billy Downer 

The Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma Foundation says the National Prosecuting Authority should remove Advocate Billy Downer from prosecuting Zuma now that there is a pending private prosecution matter against him.

Spokesperson for the Foundation Mzwanele Manyi believes the NPA needs to remove Downer from the prosecution team.

“The NPA with all the hundreds of prosecutors that they have, why are they insisting on a man who has all kinds of issues to deal with. Right now, we are dealing with an accused person in a criminal case. How can an accused person like that be trusted to be free and fair without bias? So, it should have been automatic with the developments to date. The NPA should have announced that the lead prosecutor is somebody so and so, so the NPA by its refusal they are actually prolonging this matter”.

VIDEO: Former President Jacob Zuma’s fraud court case: