Minor win for Zuma as legal team fights on two fronts

FORMER president Jacob Zuma yesterday scored a minor victory when arguments about making his medical records available to the presiding judge, to determine whether or not he is medically unfit to come to court, were temporarily put on the backburner.

Yesterday, Zuma’s lawyers were at the Pietermaritzburg High Court to fight for him on two fronts.

The first matter on the tray of Judge Piet Koen was whether Zuma was fit to come to court or not. That was because a previous appearance had to be shelved because it was argued that he was not well enough to come to court.

From the word go, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) engaged in a frantic, failed bid to force Zuma to hand over his medical records in order to back up his claims that he is sick and was unable to personally come to court.

Advocate Wim Trengove SC was representing the NPA. It later emerged during arguments in court that the NPA had subpoenaed information from the Department of Correctional Services, which recently granted Zuma medical parole, citing ill health.

Among other information that was to be presented was from the military health services. However, it later emerged that the military doctors protested the summons from the NPA, saying it was premature as the parties were exchanging information about the extent of Zuma’s illnesses.

It also emerged that the NPA may have ethically applied pressure on the

Department of Correctional Services to release the medical information that Correctional Services boss Arthur Fraser relied on to free Zuma on medical parole.

Zuma’s lead lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, told Judge Koen that the request for such information was prejudicial to Zuma as his parole was being challenged in court by a host of parties such as the DA, AfriForum and the Helen Suzman Foundation, and making such information available in an unrelated case could arm these parties.

Before Mpofu, advocate Muzi Sikhakhane SC, who was representing Fraser and the Correctional Services Department, raised concerns that the NPA allegedly bullied departmental officials to write affidavits without having proper legal advice.

In the end, after fierce arguments, Judge Koen ruled that the NPA's request to have Zuma’s medical record handed over was premature. The case then proceeded to why Zuma feels that State advocate Billy Downer had to be removed as the lead prosecutor of his arms deal trial.

In the second part of the case, Mpofu and advocate Thabani Masuku SC took turns to convince the court why Downer should recuse himself and not lead the prosecution of Zuma for his alleged arms deal corruption. Mpofu insisted that Downer and the NPA had partly conceded that some information was leaked and the case was discussed with other parties outside formal structures.

In response, Trengove accused the Zuma team of distorting facts. The matter will resume today at 11am.