Court dismisses Zuma's 2nd bid to remove Downer from arms deal case

JOHANNESBURG - Former president Jacob Zuma's latest bid to remove State advocate Billy Downer from the arms deal corruption case has been dismissed on Wednesday.

This is the second time he's tried and failed to boot Downer from the long-running matter.

In his application at Pietermaritzburg High Court, Zuma argued that Downer was biased against him and that his right to a fair trial was at risk.

In May 2021, Jacob Zuma raised a special plea challenging Downer’s title to prosecute, which was dismissed.

He tried to appeal that ruling in the Constitutional Court but with no luck.

Zuma then brought another application for Downer’s removal, based on largely the same grounds of what he claims is bias - which was heard in October 2023.

But Judge Nkosinathi Chili has - once again - dismissed the application. 

“Having had regard to submissions made by counsel, the relevant case law and most importantly the four pillars relied upon by Mr Zuma, I am not persuaded that Mr Zuma succeeded in establishing that the retention of Mr Downer as the prosecutor in this matter could prejudice his right to a fair trial enshrined in Section 35 (3) of the Constitution.”

No reasons for the decision were given, with Chili saying he will provide them in his final judgment at the end of the trial.

The matter’s now been postponed until Friday 17 May for a pre-trial conference.