Former president Jacob Zuma has launched a scathing attack on State advocate Billy Downer, calling him unfit for the job of prosecuting one of South Africa’s longest-running cases.
. In the case, Gary Porritt and Susan Bennett challenged the independence of the prosecutor in a matter involving 3,000 counts of contravention of the Income Tax Act and the Stock Exchange Control Act. “First, there is a fundamental difference between the role and functions of a prosecutor as opposed to those of a magistrate or a judge. The judiciary is held to the highest standards of independence and impartiality because they are the decision-makers in an adversarial judicial system. Prosecutors neither make the final decision on whether to acquit or convict, nor on whether evidence is admissible or not,” the NPA says.
The NPA goes on to say that the nature of adversarial criminal cases means that it is “inevitable that prosecutors will be partisan” and that their role should not be compared to that of a judge or magistrate. “A fair trial also requires fairness to the public as represented by the State. It has to instil confidence in the criminal justice system with the public, including those close to the accused, as well as those distressed by the audacity and horror of crime,” it argues.Owing to recent events of unrest in the country and the closure of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, these arguments are likely to be delayed once more, as Zuma’s legal team has applied for a postponement of the case.
“The crisp question is, why is the accused not before court? The answer is simple that the court is closed as per the directions issued by the chief registrar of this court. The first accused [Zuma] is in custody and no arrangements were made by the State to bring him to court. The country is placed on Level 4 lockdown and the gathering of people is discouraged because it may spread the Covid pandemic.
Why Zuma always want people to recuse themselves? we gave this timer lot of unnecessary attention
Expect another 8 hrs of muttering , stutterings and derision of Court by Dali Mpofu.
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