The Jacob Zuma Foundation believes that the former President will get a chance to privately prosecute President Cyril Ramaphosa over the alleged leak of his health records. Zuma was back at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg in his bid to privately prosecute Ramaphosa.

ZUMA BELIEVES JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL 

In December 2022, Zuma instituted a private prosecution against prosecutor Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan, accusing them of leaking his confidential medical records. The uMkhonto weSizwe leader is accusing Ramaphosa of being an accessory after the fact in his case against Downer and Maughan for not acting against them. The Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson, Mzwandile Manyi, said that they have high hopes that the long arm of the law will finally prevail. "President Zuma is one person who understands that eventually justice will prevail. He's an icon of the struggle; he understands nothing happens overnight. Even here, President Zuma, like he struggled over apartheid, is also going to struggle against this Ramaphosa regime. We are hoping that sanity will prevail because the case is straightforward; there's been a violation of the law and the prosecution must be allowed to proceed," Manyi said.

DELAY TACTICS

Manyi further blamed Ramaphosa for playing delay tactics and trying to dodge the private prosecution by not coming to court. "We are just being delayed by the other parallel processes on the criminal proceedings side. So we have no control over that. So all of this delay has nothing to do with President Zuma but has everything to do with how the justice system works," Manyi said. "If he had just simply appeared in court and ventilated his issues, this would be done and dusted with," Manyi added.

HEADING TO THE CONCOURT

Judge Dario Dosio postponed the matter to next year. "It is hereby ordered, having heard counsel for the private prosecutor, the criminal proceedings are hereby postponed to February 6, 2025, and second that the private prosecutor shall at that stage appraise the court regarding any developments in the matter," said Dosio, who further reminded Zuma that he is still supposed to appear before the court in his capacity as private prosecutor to ensure that his matter remains on the criminal court roll until the next appearance in February next year. Yesterday, Zuma's legal counsel advocate, Dali Mpofu, said that they had filed an appeal application in the Constitutional Court after the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed his application to privately prosecute of Ramaphosa last year. In May, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed another application by Zuma to have the matter reconsidered.