Monday, January 30th, Judge Piet Koen of the Pietermaritzburg High Court recused himself from the Jacob Zuma arms deal corruption trial.
Last year, Koen denied the Zuma camp’s special request to remove Advocate Billy Downer as prosecutor in the case. In doing so, he made “strong comments” regarding the merits of Zuma’s private prosecution against Downer at the time.
In October 2022, Koen requested input from the prosecution and defense regarding whether or not he should recuse himself as the trial judge.
Monday in court, Koen stated, “I have come to the conclusion, and it was not an easy decision, that I must recuse myself from the trial.”
“This is what the proper administration of justice, the Constitution, and my conscience require.
“The integrity of the judicial process must be safeguarded against any reasonable suspicion in order for the public and litigants to have the utmost faith in the fairness and integrity of our courts.”
Koen noted further that in this situation, the Zuma camp did not suggest that he was truly biased in his court filings. However, South African regulations regarding recusal do not need proof of a judge’s bias.
Koen stated, “The mere appearance of a reasonable suspicion of bias is sufficient to taint the proceedings.”
Jimmy Manyi, a spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, applauded Koen’s decision to withdraw himself, describing it as a “very sober decision by the judge.”
Manyi then shifted his argument to the National Prosecution Authority’s (NPA) unwillingness to remove Downer from the case. According to him, the NPA should apply the same reasoning as Koen to withdraw Downer from the case because he “cannot be perceived as free and fair…”
As previously reported, Zuma is pursuing Downer and News24 journalist Karin Maughan in private prosecution. They are being accused of violating the NPA Act. In addition, the former president is attempting to bring charges against President Cyril Ramaphosa for allegedly failing to act on allegations Zuma made to him about the NPA prosecutor.
Zuma and the French armaments manufacturer Thales are accused parties in the 1999 Arms Deal Trial.
According to Reuters, the former president is suspected of receiving an annual bribe of R500,000 from Thales to shield them from an investigation into a deal to supply military hardware to South Africa. There are sixteen counts of racketeering, fraud, corruption, and money laundering against the parties.
»Judge Piet Koen recuses himself from the trial of the Jacob Zuma Arms Deal«