The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, which granted President Cyril Ramaphosa an injunction to stop former President Jacob Zuma’s private lawsuit, is a “travesty of justice.”
Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesman Mzwandile Manyi told the media after the ruling was handed down Monday morning. Manyi said Zuma’s lawyers would find a way forward after the verdict.
Manyi specifically objected to the court’s assertion that the civil court had jurisdiction to rule on the matter, despite the fact that Zuma had initiated a private criminal prosecution that will be heard on Thursday.
“We challenge their failure to separate the matters,” he said. Gauteng Deputy Chief Justice Roland Sutherland [who delivered the judgment for the full court] also needs to explain why they wear red robes if it is a criminal court and black robes if it is a civil matter, why that matters if a court is a court of law.
“His claim that there is only one court is unfounded. The facts do not support that, and the lawyers [Zuma’s legal counsel] will obviously look into it, but as a non-lawyer, I think the judge has been misled. We will see how this proceeds. The lawyers will advise accordingly. As I sit here now, I think this is a mockery of justice,” said a visibly enraged Manyi.
After the verdict, Ramaphosa will not appear in the dock Thursday to face private prosecution by Zuma.
In handing down the verdict, Sutherland said the court believed Ramaphosa’s lawyers had made a convincing case that he should not be tried before an “illegal prosecution.”
While Zuma’s lawyers ponder their next move, Ramaphosa has welcomed the ruling. In a statement, the presidency said the court had upheld all of Ramaphosa’s arguments.