Former President Jacob Zuma will appeal the judgment by the Pietermaritzburg High Court which dismissed his private prosecution of Advocate Billy Downer and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan with costs.
Zuma lost his attempt to have Maughan and Downer prosecuted over what he said was the leaking of his confidential medical records. He was ordered to pay their legal costs.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation’s spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi confirmed that Zuma will launch an urgent application to appeal the judgment
“President Zuma will appeal this bizarre judgment by the PMB HC as regards the private prosecution of Adv Downer and Karyn Maughan,” the Zuma Foundation said.
Legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala said Zuma has the option to appeal the High Court judgment which dismissed his private prosecution attempts by either approaching the same court or petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal.
“In the judgment which was very brief, there is mention that the private certificate which is not suspect specific, doesn’t include the name of Karyn Maughan cannot then be taken as if it included them.
“This will have a bearing on another case taking place in Gauteng in which the current President Cyril Ramaphosa is being prosecuted. This does give an indication on how the court in that case will approach the matter,” he said.
In December 2022, Zuma instituted a private prosecution against Maughan and Downer and accused Downer, who is the lead prosecutor in his arms deal case, of giving Maughan a copy of medical records that were later disclosed in court proceedings.
On December 15, he accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of failing to act after he complained that Downer had behaved improperly. Ramaphosa has since approached the high court in Johannesburg to declare the private certificate invalid.
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