Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa has filed papers in the Gauteng High Court for an urgent application to interdict former president Jacob Zuma from going ahead with his private prosecution bid against Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa has also asked the court to excuse him from appearing in court on January 19, 2023, as directed by the summons.
The news comes after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) made a determination that the non-prosecution certificate obtained by Zuma to grant him an opportunity for private prosecution was not related to Ramaphosa.
Zuma accused Ramaphosa of being an "accessory after the fact" in a criminal offence alleged against Advocate William Downer, who is accused of improperly sharing information in terms of the NPA Act.
Ahead of the 55th National Conference in Nasrec, Zuma launched a private prosecution bid against Ramaphosa for allegedly contravening the NPA Act following the disclosure of his medical records by prosecutor Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan.
Ramaphosa had demanded that Zuma withdraw his private prosecution within three days, but Zuma’s legal team refused to comply with Ramaphosa’s demands.
Zuma has alleged that Downer and Maughan acted in an unethical manner and were in criminal breach of the NPA Act, which requires prosecutors to obtain written permission from the National Director of Prosecutions before disclosing the contents of documents in their possession.
Zuma’s legal team subsequently added Ramaphosa to the list of the accused, with the presidency saying these charges against the president were "completely spurious and unfounded."
The president has argued that the certificate granted to Zuma as a legal confirmation that the NPA will not proceed with the prosecution following its consideration of the charges was not issued directly against him.
"Mr Zuma has not provided such a certificate with charges in the name of President Ramaphosa, and the summons served to the president is hopelessly substandard and demonstrates an absolute disregard for the law," Ramaphosa said recently.
The Star