Final Nail On Zuma's Doomed Bid To Privately Prosecute Ramaphosa

Former President Jacob Zuma has reached the end of the road in his bid to privately prosecute President Cyril Ramaphosa .

On Tuesday 4 February, the Constitutional Court dismissed his application for leave to appeal a high court ruling that set aside his private prosecution of Ramaphosa.

The Constitutional Court has considered the application for condonation and the application for leave to appeal and has concluded that there is no adequate explanation for the applicants delay in bringing the application for leave to appeal and there are no reasonable prospects of success on the merits of the application for leave to appeal, the apex court said in a terse order.

Condonation must be refused and, as a consequence, the application for leave to appeal fails. The Court has decided not to award costs.

This marks the end of a matter that started on the eve of the African National Congress national conference in 2022 when Zuma initiated the private prosecution.

At the time, he accused his successor of being an "accessory after the fact" to criminal conduct or defeating the ends of justice. His accusation stemmed from his allegation, in another private prosecution, that state prosecutor Billy Downer had leaked his medical certificate to journalist Karyn Maughn.

Zuma alleged that Ramaphosa had failed to act on his request to institute an inquiry against Downer and other National Prosecuting Authority NPA members regarding the alleged leak.

Ramaphosa filed an application at the Johannesburg high court seeking an order that Zumas private prosecution was unlawful and unconstitutional. He succeeded in a ruling issued in July 2023, prompting appeals by Zuma that have now come to nought.

The ex-Presidents private prosecution of Downer and Maughn was also struck off the roll in April last year. Downer is the lead prosecutor in Zumas arms deal corruption case, which is set for trial from 14 April.