Johnathan Paoli
THE KwaZulu-Natal High Court has struck off the roll, former President Jacob Zuma’s bid to privately prosecute state advocate Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan.
On Wednesday, Judge Nkosinathi Chili said despite the court’s ruling, his judgment is pending Zuma’s appeal in the Constitutional Court, against a court order that the private prosecution is invalid.
Zuma previously accused Downer, who was the lead prosecutor in the arms deal corruption case at the time, as well as Maughan of illegally leaking a doctor’s letter to the media.
Downer and Maughan applied for a court order stopping the case as well as an interdict enforcing the first order last year, with Zuma losing appeals against both in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Con court.
Chili ordered that the state advocate and journalist present themselves in court as accused at a future date, if Zuma’s appeal should succeed.
The ruling was received with a mixed response, with some calling for a new case in light of the danger of illegal sharing of private information, while others bemoaned another example of the former president wasting valuable legal resources in his seemingly pointless crusade against the pair.
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