President Cyril Ramaphosa has run to his lawyers to stop former president Jacob Zuma from prosecuting him privately after the latter, on the eve of the ANC 55th elective conference currently taking place in Nasrec.
The statement was released by the Jacob Zuma Foundation on Thursday and said that the former president had instituted a private prosecution of the president "for being an accessory after the fact in the crimes committed by among others Advocate [Billy] Downer, namely, breaching the provisions of the NPA Act."
In the statement, Zuma said he had instituted the private prosecution in the Johannesburg High Court.
The statement further said that the accused person, Ramaphosa, was meant to appear on the 19th of next month in the new year.
In turn, Ramaphosa’s lawyers served Zuma with legal papers demanding that Zuma withdraw the private prosecution.
Ramaphosa’s lawyers said in the papers served to Zuma on Saturday that Ramaphosa would ignore the summons sent to him accusing him of abusing legal processes because he made the move just before the conference started on Friday.
Ramaphosa is running for re-election as party president, but he is being challenged by former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The papers read in part: "The question is whether the private prosecution was instituted or conducted for some collateral and improper purpose rather than with the objective of having criminal justice done to an offender."
The Presidency rubbished the claims on Friday, saying: "Mr. Zuma’s charges are based on an accusation that President Ramaphosa failed to act after Mr. Zuma complained about improper conduct by Advocates Downer and Breitenbach. These charges are completely spurious and unfounded."
Pretoria News