Zuma virtual court hearing drama
TENSIONS are mounting over publicly seeing former president Jacob Zuma before the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the first time since he started a 15-month jail sentence imposed by the Concourt for defying its instruction to appear before the Zondo Commission..
The fight is over whether his hearing should be virtual and whether such a hearing would be constitutionally sound.
At the weekend the Jacob Zuma Foundation insisted that in a criminal trial all accused should be present in court. It said the hearing should be shelved if the situation did not allow for such a hearing.
In the application, Zuma argues that advocate Billy Downer SC, of the NPA ,cannot lead his prosecution as he had proven to be a tainted figure who had allowed politics to influence him and who had allegedly shared information with US spies from the CIA. Downer has denied all accusations. If granted his wish, Zuma wants the NPA to eventually stop his prosecution and the matter to be thrown out of court, as he would not be fairly tried.
Regarding the virtual hearing, the foundation said the case should be shelved if the situation did not allow for a physical hearing.
“The foundation is concerned that the directions issued by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, to hear the matter virtually, are not consistent with provisions of both the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and the Constitution. The matter must be heard physically on July 19 or later, when the country is calmer,” the foundation said on Twitter at the weekend.
It quoted sections of the CPA which say all cases, unless otherwise, should be heard with all accused in court.
Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said Zuma's lawyers would challenge the directive to have the matter heard through virtual platforms.
He added that they wanted Zuma to be driven from his Estcourt prison cell to Pietermaritzburg to be present in court when the application was argued today.
“Yes, it’s a criminal case. Both the Constitution and even (the) Criminal Procedure Act direct so,” Manyi told Independent Media yesterday. Remember, at times, lawyers need to consult the client to check the veracity of some statements being made by the prosecutor. You can't stop the prosecutor and ask for an adjournment to call your client in Estcourt,” Manyi said.
NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said they were aware that Zuma and his legal team were against the virtual sitting, and they were ready to oppose that. "Yesterday, yes, our prosecutors have received them. We are still working on our replying affidavits. We will oppose the application," Mhaga said.