Former South African President Jacob Zuma is scheduled to appear in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Thursday to continue his prosecution bid against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zuma accuses Ramaphosa of failing to act against South Africa’s Prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer (SC) and journalist Karyn Maughan, who both allegedly disclosed his (Zuma’s) medical details during his 2021 corruption trial.

Zuma was eventually convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison in the same year for defying a court order to appear before a judicial commission probing corruption allegations in government and state-owned companies during his presidential term from 2009 to 2018.

Zuma argues the disclosure of his medical records was in violation of the National Prosecuting Authority Act (NPAA). This case was last heard in court in December 2023.

Failed bids

In 2023, Ramaphosa successfully applied to the court to review and set aside Zuma’s private prosecution bid. Zuma then sought to appeal this decision before the full bench of the High Court, but lost.

Zuma, undeteered, petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeal, but the appellant court dismissed his appeal. He has since requested that the Appeals Court reconsider its decision.

On Tuesday, South Africa’s Electoral Court ruled that former President Jacob Zuma can run for office as a lawmaker in the upcoming election, overturning an earlier decision that had barred him from contesting the polls.

The decision paves the way for Zuma to run for president on behalf of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, a new political organisation that he joined last year after denouncing the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party that he once led.

The Independent Electoral Commission had earlier ruled that Zuma could not run for office due to his criminal record after it received an objection against his candidature.

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