Legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala says Judge Piet Koen’s decision to recuse himself from former president Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial protects its integrity and could prevent further delays
The trial at the Pietermaritzburg High Court was earlier adjourned to April 17.
Koen’s decision came after Zuma wrote to him to object advocate Billy Downer’s leading of his prosecution.
Zikalala shares his analysis on Koen’s decision.
“All that he is saying is that I don’t want to taint these particular proceedings. I want to make sure that everything is [done] according to the law and in line with our Constitution. Section 35 is clear when it comes to a right of a fair trial, it was merely saying I have made pronouncement to this matter before, maybe I did not do it directly but at the end of the day, it can be construed as biased towards the state and finding against Mr Zuma.”
“On those processes and on those bases, I on my own I need to recuse myself so that a new judge would then now come in. It is a very good move. He is simply saying let me protect the integrity of these proceedings. I don’t want these proceedings to be tainted by something that I have done, you simply have to look at the merits of the matter to determine whether someone is guilty or not,” adds Zikalala.
The video below is reporting more on the story:
