The Jacob Gedleyihlekisa (JG) 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.
This as Zuma and the French arms company Thales return to the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the continuation of their fraud and corruption case on Monday. Last week, the foundation said it had lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Court against Judge Piet Koen’s ruling last year, dismissing Zuma’s application for special plea in his quest for Downer’s recusal.
The spokesperson for the JG Zuma 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 | Zuma, Thales corruption case back in court:
