FORMER president Jacob Zuma has lost two legal battles in as many days.
On Tuesday, 12 September, the Joburg High Court full bench unanimously dismissed with costs his bid to pursue his private prosecution of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Zuma applied for leave to appeal the court’s ruling in July that the private prosecution was unlawful and unconstitutional.
In a brief virtual sitting, Judge Lebogang Modiba said: “I’m only reading the order, and it reads as follows: the application is dismissed with costs. I should mention that it is a unanimous judgment of this court.”
The matter stems from what Zuma alleged was the leaking of his private medical information by prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer to News24 journalist Karyn Maughan in August 2021.
Zuma attempted to prosecute Ramaphosa for failing to investigate or take necessary steps to bring Downer and Maughan to justice.
The summons was served on the president on the eve of the ANC’s 55th national elective congress in Nasrec, Joburg, in December 2022.
According to Zuma, this made Ramaphosa an accessory after the fact.
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Ramaphosa told the court he believed that Zuma got the so-called nolle prosequi certificate - which allowed him to pursue these charges - in a bid to hamper his election at the ANC’s 55th national elective congress in Nasrec, Joburg, in December 2022.
A nolle prosequi certificate is issued by the prosecuting authority to confirm that the state has no intention of pursuing a particular charge against a person, and it is only with this in hand that the injured party who wishes to initiate the prosecution can approach the court.
The full bench agreed with the president's assertion that the private prosecution was an "abuse" launched for an "ulterior purpose".
On Monday, 11 September, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg dismissed Zuma's attempt to appeal the invalidation of his private prosecution against Downer and Maughan.
It found the appeal bid did not have reasonable prospects of success.
