Zuma vs Ramaphosa case: Delays on proceedings, not on Zuma - Manyi

JOHANNESBURG - Mzwanele Manyi insists the delays in former president Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution of his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, are out of their hands.

This is despite the fact that it’s Zuma’s efforts to overturn a July 2023 High Court ruling, reviewing and setting aside the private prosecution that is currently holding things up.

The case came before the High Court in Joburg briefly on Tuesday.

Zuma’s counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu, revealed that the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed a second appeal bid in May and that they now plan on approaching the Constitutional Court.

Proceedings were adjourned until February in the interim.

Speaking outside court, Manyi, the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, stressed that Zuma had been attending the proceedings religiously.

"That shows that he is very serious as a prosecutor to prosecute this case. So we are just being delayed by the other parallel processes on the criminal proceedings side. So we have no control over that. So all of this delay has got nothing to do with president Zuma but has everything to do with how the justice system works."

Manyi put the blame on Ramaphosa for challenging the private prosecution.

"If he had just simply appeared in court and ventilated his issues this would be done and dusted with. But now that other process that’s delaying this process didn't even deal with with the merits of the issue. And that's why we are where we are, because we still want the merits of the issue dealt with."