Courts wrap 2024: From Senzo Meyiwa to Jacob Zuma, the courts' plates overflowed in 2024

JOHANNESBURG - The country's courts were hard at work in 2024, with old and new cases being deliberated.

Here are some of the most notable ones:

SENZO MEYIWA 

In October 2014, Senzo Meyiwa was shot while at the home of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo.

It took six years for arrests to be made for the murder and a total of eight years before the trial could begin.

Two years since the first day of the trial, a verdict is yet to be delivered on the culpability of the five men accused of the beloved football star’s murder.

ALSO READ:

-Meyiwa trial: Court hears alleged gunman, Khumalo, Twala had same picture of money on their phones

-Director of Public Prosecutions Mzinyathi satisfied with current pace of Meyiwa murder trial

In a 10-year Senzo Meyiwa Special, Eyewitness News took a look back at the night Meyiwa took his last breath.

THABO BESTER

Convicted killer and rapist, Thabo Bester, his accomplice, Nandipha Magudumana, and seven others including her father, were last in court on 31 July 2024.

The group is charged for Bester’s brazen escape from Mangaung maximum security prison over two years ago.

They face over 30 counts of fraud, corruption, arson, violating a corpse, and aiding and abetting a prisoner escape, among others.

ALSO READ:

-Thabo Bester's application for access to laptop and modem struck off court roll

-MPs to consider Public Protector's report on Thabo Bester's prison escape 

The case is set to resume in February 2025.

NAFIZ MODACK

The high-profile trial of alleged underworld gang boss Nafiz Modack continued in the Western Cape High Court this year. 

Modack and 14 others face 122 charges for various crimes related to allegedly running a criminal enterprise.

ALSO READ:

-Modack co-accused allegedly plotted hit while he was in prison, court hears

-Court hears that Nafiz Modack used Woodstock gang for assassinations

-Nafiz Modack trial: Money laundering takes centre stage

JACOB ZUMA VS DOWNER

Former statesman Jacob Zuma was back in the courts for old and new cases.

He continued with his bid to remove State advocate Billy Downer from the arms deal case. 

Zuma alleged bias on the part of Downer and that he had unlawfully leaked the former president’s confidential medical information to the press, in violation of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act.

Handing down reasons for dismissing Zuma's latest application in September, Judge Nkosinathi Chili highlighted that “as things stand there is no private prosecution” and that the courts had found Zuma’s case against Downer to be an abuse of process.

ALSO READ:

-Issues Zuma raised in latest bid against Downer already 'sufficiently dealt with' - Judge Chili

-Zuma's bid to remove Downer from arms deal case will end up in ConCourt - legal expert

ZUMA VS RAMAPHOSA

Zuma also failed in his second bid in August to overturn the setting aside of private prosecution against President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Zuma served Ramaphosa with a summons in 2022 for a private prosecution on charges of being an accessory after the fact to contraventions of the NPA Act in a matter involving State advocate, Billy Downer.

READ: Zuma vs Ramaphosa was never about ANC presidency - Manyi

MK PARTY VS ANC

Among other court visits, the newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party was taken to court by the African National Congress (ANC) to change its name and logo.

The ANC said that the use of the name and logo uMkhonto weSizwe by Zuma’s party was an infringement of its trademark as these are linked to its former armed wing.

ANC lost the court bid, it appealed and judgment was later reserved in the matter.

MK PARTY VS EXPELLED MEMBERS

In early December, the Western Cape High Court set aside the MK Party’s decision to remove members of the All African Alliance Movement (AAAM) from its candidates' list, expelling them from the party during the election period.

The order of the Western Cape High Court marks the first case in which the decision of the MK Party to expel members originally placed on the candidates' list and elected to Parliament has been reversed.

ALSO READ: 

-WC High Court takes dim view of derogatory comments made by MK Party against judiciary

-MK Party drops court bid to nullify election results