Former president Jacob Zuma has filed his answering affidavit against President Cyril Ramaphosa’s urgent application to the High Court in Johannesburg barring Zuma from pursuing personal prosecutions against him.
The former president said there was no urgency in the matter and “whatever urgency there is is self-created”.
Zuma launched a personal prosecution of Ramaphosa on the eve of the African National Congress (ANC) national elective conference, accusing the president of being an “accessory after the fact” in the alleged criminal offense against Advocate William Downer, who was accused of not properly representing him. information in terms of the NPA Act.
In his application, Ramaphosa said that under the Criminal Procedure Act, private prosecutions can only be instituted after individual prosecutors obtain a certificate of non-prosecution.
Also read: Zuma happy ‘sanity has prevailed’ for Ramaphosa over personal prosecution
“Mr. “Zuma has not issued the certificate with the allegations in the name of President Ramaphosa and the summons given to the President is completely substandard and shows disregard for the law,” Ramaphosa said, adding that the personal prosecution against him was “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
Ramaphosa’s affidavit ‘broken’
In response to the affidavit opposing Ramaphosa’s urgent application, Zuma said the president’s affidavit was “flawed, extremely harsh, reckless and vexatious”.
“It will be clearly demonstrated that the application is not urgent and does not deserve the attention of this Court. This is an extreme case of abuse of the process of this Court and is designed to protect the Applicant from responsibility for the alleged criminal acts, which include failure to act when he has a legal obligation to do so. Currently, crimes are committed by commission or omission,” Zuma said in his affidavit.
He said the “real essence” of Ramaphosa’s application was to seek “unprecedented, special and preferential treatment” as an accused and accused person.
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“These and other preliminary legal objections raised below, require that the application not be entertained but dismissed or dismissed with punitive costs.”
According to Zuma, Ramaphosa’s application also “miserably failed” to meet the legal requirements for a substantive ban.
‘Individuals accused of crimes’
Zuma said he was happy that Ramaphosa had abandoned his “dismissive and contemptuous” attitude towards private prosecutors.
“With the submission of this application and the reading of the affidavit, he has understood and acknowledged, inter alia, the fact that he is an individual accused of a crime and must appear and be present at the criminal court, which is set for January 19, 2022 [2023]otherwise no arrest warrant will be issued.”
Also read: Ramaphosa calls for urgent court application on personal prosecution case by Zuma