Hope for SA’s judiciary after Koen postpones trial over recusal, says Zuma foundation
High court judge Piet Koen has postponed former president Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial over the arms deal until late January 2023
Pietermaritzburg high court judge Piet Koen postponed the corruption trial of former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales on Wednesday, to January 30. Koen rejected arguments forwarded by state prosecutor advocate Billy Downer on Monday, when he urged the presiding officer to “get on with the trial”.
Koen's decision is a win for the former president’s team, who disagreed with Downer’s submissions and insisted his averments were “absurd” during this week’s earlier hearing. But, instead of addressing Downer’s exit — which Koen dismissed in a “special plea” brought by Zuma earlier in 2022 (Zuma had asked the Constitutional Court for direct access on Friday to challenge the ruling) — the judge wants his own standing scrutinised...
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