Journalist Maughan fights back against Zuma court challenge
News24 journalist Karyn Maughan has lodged papers in the Pietermaritzburg high court seeking an interdict to stop former president Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution of her on “meritless charges”.
Maughan and advocate Billy Downer, lead prosecutor in Zuma’s corruption and fraud trial, were summonsed by Zuma last month to appear in the court on October 10, when he intends prosecuting them in relation to allegations that Downer leaked documents to Maughan.
Downer has hit back, denying any wrongdoing, and is demanding that Zuma put down a deposit of at least R1m as security for legal fees.
It is widely believed Zuma cannot afford this.
Maughan has also launched pretrial proceedings.
She is seeking an order setting aside the summons and putting a stop to the private prosecution.
She says the summons is a gross abuse of court process, obtained for ulterior purposes of intimidating and harassing her and preventing her from doing her job and reporting on Zuma’s arms deal trial.
“There are absolutely no prospects of success,” she says.
“My reporting on Mr Zuma’s trial and other politically charged matters has raised the ire of Mr Zuma and his supporters.
“I have been repeatedly maligned and threatened, including by members of his family and representatives of the Jacob G Zuma Foundation, for doing my job.”
Maughan said the online abuse was not only calculated to intimidate her but intended to serve as a threat to journalists in general.
She said the charges against her were completely baseless.
She had obtained the court papers — which are public documents — that she then reported on.
This was at a time when Zuma was applying for a postponement of the criminal trial because he was ill.
The medical report, submitted to trial judge Piet Koen in support of the application, was attached to both the state’s and Zuma’s papers.
Koen had subsequently pronounced that it did not contain anything significantly confidential.