Johannesburg – Former President Jacob Zuma’s legal team has responded to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s, who had earlier asserted that Zuma may choose to disregard the summons that had been issued to him.
In a letter distributed late on Saturday night, Zuma’s legal team stated that in South Africa, summonses cannot be disregarded and referenced a case law to support their claim.
This was in response to a letter from the Office of the State Attorney, which claimed on Saturday afternoon that Zuma’s summons to Ramaphosa regarding the Billy Downer case were invalid, served at the incorrect address (Ramaphosa’s private residence rather than the state residence), and were an abuse of the legal system.
Ramaphosa’s legal team also questioned the summons’ timing, which fell on the same day as the ANC’s national elective conference. However, Zuma’s legal team said that the summons should have been issued last week but that the president declined to do so.
Zuma hinted earlier this week that he will bring a private case against Ramaphosa related to the Phala Phala affair.
“A nolle prosequi certificate about the President was not included in the document that was sent to his private residence.
“Therefore, the President is unrelated to it. The summons’ nolle prosequi certificate refers to a man named Mr. William John Downer.
The President could not have been the subject of such a certificate because he was never mentioned in those proceedings. Because of these factors, such a document cannot be considered a genuine summons under section 7(2) because it was not processed correctly. For private prosecution, a nolle prosequi certificate is a prerequisite.
This stipulation has not been met. In a letter to Zuma’s legal team, the state attorney claimed that the alleged summons had no legal standing.
However, according to Zuma’s legal team, Ramaphosa must respond to the summons because of a precedent that states that no one can just disregard a summons.
For the avoidance of doubt, the present summons, which was officially issued by the Registrar of the High Court and lawfully served by the Sheriff, is still in effect until our client withdraws it or it is overturned by a judge.
“If you are willing, kindly agree to extend the deadline by one day, to December 20 or 21, 2022, so that we may respond with our client’s final position due to the ongoing conference.
They asked for a response as soon as possible, but no later than 17 h00 on December 18, 2022, to let them know whether or not their counterproposals regarding the type of service and the reversion date were acceptable.
When this report was being written, it was unclear if Ramaphosa or his legal counsel had received the letter.
Ramaphosa and Zuma made headlines on Friday when they were seen laughing together on camera just hours after Zuma said he would file a private lawsuit against the president.