South Africa: Court Rules Against Jacob Zuma's Special Plea to Have Billy Downer Removed From Arms Deal Case

analysis

Two unsurprising things happened at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday. Presiding judge Piet Koen denied Jacob Zuma's special plea to have senior prosecutor Billy Downer removed from trying the arms deal graft case, and Zuma's legal team hinted strongly that it would apply for leave to appeal the ruling.

Koen read a summary of his 107-page judgment into the court record, saying that the central question to be answered was what was meant by "title to prosecute", as the veteran prosecutor having "no title to prosecute... was the sole basis upon which Mr Downer's removal as prosecutor was sought [by Zuma]".

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