By Johannah Malogadihlare
THE South Gauteng High Court has postponed the private prosecution case between Former President Jacob Zuma and President Cyril Ramaphosa to February next year.
Zuma appeared in court on Tuesday after the case was initially postponed in April, wherein he is attempting to prosecute Ramaphosa accusing him of leaking his health records in his corruption trial before the KwaZulu-Natal Court in Pietermaritzburg.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, Zuma’s legal representative requested a postponement in terms of section 168 of the Criminal Procedure Act, in order to allow for further discussion and expansion of the case.
“After discussions in chambers, the proposal is once again that we ask for a long postponement. From April up until now, it has been deliberately long to allow this process to unfold. We would, therefore, ask for the order of postponement,” Mpofu said.
Mpofu said because the Supreme Court of Appeal in May dismissed a reconsideration application as well, they will be heading to the Constitutional Court.
“In May of this year, the reconsideration application was dismissed. Unfortunately, as my attorney put it, the matter fell through the cracks, but there certainly was, as it is indicated in the document that I handed out there, instructions from the private prosecutor to institute a further appeal in the Constitutional Court,” he said.
The case has been postponed to 6 February, 2025, while the application to the country’s apex court is yet to be determined.
The Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader initiated the private prosecution against Ramaphosa on the eve of the ANC’s national elective conference back in December 2022, and accused Ramaphosa of being an accessory after the fact by failing to take action against state prosecutor Billy Downer.
Zuma alleges that Downer leaked his medical records to journalist Karyn Maughan, however the state has denied the claims, with Downer and Maughan stating that Zuma’s medical information was publicly available in court documents and consequently not confidential.
His private prosecution against Downer and Maughan was denied and struck off the roll in April this year.
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