Former president Jacob Zuma's private prosecution case against his successor President Cyril Ramaphosa has been postponed to 6 August 2024. This is to allow Zuma to respond to papers filed by Ramaphosa opposing his predecessor's appeal of the Supreme Court ruling, which declared the matter as unlawful, unconstitutional, invalid and was set aside. Zuma is appealing the ruling.

PRIVATE PROSECUTION OF THE PRESIDENT 

In 2022, Zuma instituted a private prosecution against prosecutor Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan accusing them of leaking his confidential medical records. The former President is accusing Ramaphosa of being an accessory after the fact in his case against Downer and Maughan for not acting against them. The matter was heard at the Johannesburg High Court today after it was postponed in December last year. Zuma's lawyer Advocate Dali Mpofu requested that the matter be delayed until August to allow the appeal processes to be completed and for the prosecutor, who is Zuma in this case, to respond to papers filed by Ramaphosa opposing the appeal. "Unlike a normal criminal matter where he can withdraw charges and reinstate them if the private prosecutor does not appear on a said date, then the matter is permanently dismissed. Therefore, the arrangement that we had with this court to the Deputy Judge President and other persons is that to avoid the back and forth here every month, we have agreed on a longer-than-normal postponement so that hopefully, by then, this appeal might be finalised," he said.

RAMAPHOSA ABOVE THE LAW?

Addressing his supporters who came in numbers dressed in uMkhonto weSizwe Party regalia outside court, Zuma accused the court of favouring Ramaphosa. "He is a president and is supposed to follow the law like everyone else, but he does not come to court. He is the only prisoner I know that has never been to court or prison, while some of us have been forced to attend court cases before,' Zuma said. He said he once went to Cuba for medical treatment and he could not attend court proceedings and when his lawyers told the court, a judge demanded that he comes to court. "It's a miracle that the president hasn't come to court even when they found money under his sofa. He has never been to court, even once."