Former ANC and South African President Jacob Zuma has respectfully disagreed with the outcome of the reconsideration ruling handed down by Supreme Court of Appeals Judge President Mandisa Maya.
According to a statement by the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Former President Zuma is to consult with his legal team over the weekend regarding the way forward.
What comes out from the consultation will be announced next week.
“The Foundation notes that the SCA decision is not based on the correctness or otherwise of the decision of the Pmb High Court on the merits of the special plea for the removal of Downer, but on a technicality that there are no exceptional circumstances warranting a reconsideration,” said the Foundation.
The Foundation says that while four separate petitions were submitted, only one was decided on by the previous two SCA judges.
“We view that as sufficiently exceptional. The Foundation therefore respectfully disagrees with the ruling on the technical question of exceptional circumstances,” added the statement
Furthermore the Foundation welcomed the fact that the judgment was not leaked to known enemies of Zuma.
For this the Foundation thanked the leadership of the SCA judiciary for showing integrity in that regard despite the challenges of the administrative side.
“The Department of Justice is called upon to attend to the administrative weaknesses in the office of the Registrar,”said the Foundation.
Additionally the Foundation applauded the SCA for the delivery of the outcome within two months despite administrative challenges.
“This is in stark contrast to the unjustifiable delays we have been subjected to by Adv Shamilla Batohi who acts like a hired gun in charge of the NPA. Batohi has been refusing to sign and issue a single page to certify her decision announced as far back as 8 April not to prosecute Downer and his accomplices,” explained the Foundation.
This in the Foundations view is a deliberate act to protect Downer from the inevitable private prosecution and stalingrad tactics of Batohi undermining the waning confidence in the criminal justice system.
“The Foundation’s complaint is not so much about an outcome which we disagree with which can always be challenged, it is about an obviously predetermined outcome which is unfair and unjust such as the disgraceful conduct and manipulation of the justice system by Shamilla Batohi. Legal advice is also being sought on this directly related issue,” concluded the statement.