DOWNER SAYS ZUMA'S LAWYER LEAKED THE LETTER

Former president Jacob Zuma has a short memory; his own lawyer also submitted a letter about his health to court and a year ago he happily told the internet how he was poisoned.

Former president Jacob Zuma's latest victim card is nothing but a desperate, hollow attempt to divert attention from the impending ruling by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on advocate Billy Downer's ability to prosecute Zuma.

Judge Piet Koen is scheduled to rule next Tuesday whether Downer can continue with his prosecution of Zuma, or whether he is compromised and should stand down, in which case a new prosecutor would take over the trial.

Zuma's latest move will cast a pall over Koen's ruling on his special plea application next week, in which the former president will argue that the judge should block the entire National Prosecuting Authority from pursuing corruption charges against him. 

Given that legal experts have dismissed that case as flimsy, Zuma's decision to lay charges before Koen has ruled may arguably be seen as a last desperate bid at diversion.

Not one to let the opportunity of a good spectacle pass, Zuma's spokesperson and sycophant-in-chief, Mzwanele Manyi, invited the media as the former president was granted access to the office of the station commander in Pietermaritzburg to open a case.

I suspect not many victims of crime in Pietermaritzburg have had the pleasure of the station commander inviting them to his office to open a case - but, hey, Zuma is after all a celebrity in this part of the world.

The former president, who is on medical parole after he convinced former prisons boss Arthur Fraser that he cannot function properly, looked fit as he was driven all the way from Nkandla to Pietermaritzburg, a few days after frequenting a casino in Durban.

Downer's "crime"? Allegedly leaking Zuma's medical records.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are the facts.

In August, when it became known that Zuma was admitted for medical treatment, his legal team informed the court they would bring an application for the postponement of his corruption trial.

For the postponement application, both the State and Zuma had to file court papers.

Maughan reached out to advocate Andrew Breitenbach, a private advocate who was working alongside advocate Wim Trengove to argue the State's case, and asked him to send her a copy of all the court papers.

Breitenbach sent her the State's affidavit, filed by Downer, with annexures attached, and Zuma's papers, filed by his attorney, Bethuel Thusini, with annexures attached. Both affidavits had annexed to it a letter by Brigadier-General Dr Mcebisi Mdutywa of the South African Military Health Service.

The affidavits were provided to Maughan on condition that they only be written about once they had been filed and became public documents. She complied with that agreement. The subject matter contained in the court papers - including Zuma's alleged medical difficulties - were discussed in open court, because Zuma's lawyers made no attempt to have their arguments heard in camera. 

In the letter, without naming the condition, Mdutywa informed prison and prosecuting authorities that Zuma had suffered a "traumatic injury" last year. He needed "extensive emergency treatment" and six months of care to restore his health. This was reported by Maughan on News24. 

That is the extent of the "medical records" Zuma and Manyi now claim Downer "leaked" to Maughan.

Mdutywa's letter was marked "confidential", but both Downer and Zuma's own attorney, Thusini, deemed it relevant enough to attach to their affidavits, that were handed to the court. And none of the parties applied for the letter to be removed from the court file.

As a rule, all court documents are public records. It is the right of every South African to request court papers that were filed in any of our courts. I'm told by the lawyers that this principle was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Cape Town v South African National Roads Authority (Sanral) case.

As journalists, we take our responsibility to be the ears and eyes of the public extremely serious. Maughan is a seasoned legal journalist with two decades of experience in covering judicial matters.

She asks and receives court papers before breakfast on a daily basis from lawyers and advocates, including legal practitioners employed by Zuma. This was and is nothing unusual, completely undeserving of the attention it now gets.

Thursday's move was nothing but a red herring designed to divert attention from Koen's judgment on Tuesday.

As I and others have pointed out numerously over the years, Zuma is strongest when he is a victim. This was a classic Zuma move: portray yourself as a victim of the system before you are possibly dealt a legal blow.

I have no doubt that the authorities will dismiss Zuma's "leaking" complaint against Downer. But it is now clear that Zuma's medical condition will be used in future legal processes, and that Koen will have to take a firm view on this.

The former president cannot, in all seriousness, claim to be too ill for court, but happily attend casino meetings in Durban and open criminal cases 180 kilometres from his house.

Zuma has a short memory; just a year ago, when he was interviewed by his son, Duduzane, for a family YouTube video - titled "Zooming with the Zumas" - the former president had no qualms disclosing on camera to thousands of viewers that he was allegedly poisoned and had to receive medical treatment in Russia, or that his son, Vusi, died in 2018 of poisoning, that was supposedly meant for him.

In May 2020, Zuma snr saw nothing strange, wrong or illegal in disclosing medical information on a very public forum. It will be interesting hearing him explain this to the authorities.