Durban — There’s no end in sight in the long-running arms deal legal battle between former president Jacob Zuma and the State after the matter was postponed once again on Thursday to September 11.

This is to allow presiding Judge Nkosinathi Chili time to flesh out his reason for his decision to throw out Zuma’s bid to have lead prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer removed from the case.

Zuma’s counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, SC, argued that the former president had fired a jab at the State, saying its case was weak and without merits.

He said Zuma had a right to know the reasons that led to his application to have Downer ejected from the case being rejected by Judge Chili.

“The right to appeal, which includes the right for leave to appeal, goes symbolically together with the right of reasons. It will be an empty right to say you have a right to appeal, but we are going to withhold the reasons,” said Mpofu.

He further indicated during the proceedings that Zuma wanted to be granted permission to appeal Judge Chili’s decision to reject his application for Downer’s removal.

Responding, Downer said Judge Chili had already explained his reasons for rejecting Zuma’s application.

Zuma, who is facing counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering along with France-based arms manufacturer Thales, formerly known as Thomson-CSF, was in court accompanied by (the) top brass of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).

The leadership included former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, who recently dumped the party led by Julius Malema in favour of the MKP, where he is now national organiser.

The pre-trial proceedings were set to start in April last year but were pushed back after Zuma applied to have Downer removed from the case.

Zuma’s long-standing gripe with Downer stemmed from the latter allegedly leaking Zuma’s medical records to a News24 journalist, Karyn Maughan.

However, Downer had repeatedly refuted the allegations, with Zuma’s attempt to privately prosecute Downer and the journalist falling flat.

Zuma launched another bid to throw Downer off the case in October last year, but this proved futile when Judge Chili dismissed his application.

In March this year, Zuma filed another application to have Downer removed “on constitutional grounds”, but this was also denied by Judge Chili. Not throwing in the towel, Zuma filed a special plea in May challenging the title to prosecute.

However, his application was summarily dismissed, and Zuma took the matter to the Constitutional Court.

It is now on this basis that Zuma wants to know the reasons for the dismissal before the pre-trial proceedings get under way in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

Judge Chili caved in, announcing the postponement so that he could draft the reasons for rejecting Zuma’s bid.

“There are exceptional circumstances that justify me to give reasons in relation to rejecting the application for Mr Downer’s removal,” he said.

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Zuma’s arms deal case postponed once again