Today being the 16 of February, former president Jacob Zuma appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to appeal that Billy Downer, a state prosecutor, be removed from his arms deal trial.

Zuma alleges that Downer and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have treated him unfairly since his trial began in 2005. The former president hoped that if the court agreed with his allegations, they would acquit the case altogether.

However, Judge Koen, who presided over today’s proceedings, dismissed all legal challenges Zuma brought before the court, including his appeal bid against Downer.

The future of Zuma’s trial

Zuma’s trial will continue on 11 April at 10 am.

Mthunzi Mhaga, a spokesperson for the NPA, said that the authority is prepared to try the former president, and they agree with Judge Koen’s decision regarding Zuma’s appeal bid, News24 reports.

“This has been a premature decision, to say let’s adopt a piecemeal approach when it comes to appeals. This appeal should have been brought at the conclusion of the trial, and therefore it is not in the interest of justice that we deal with an appeal on a special plea at this stage,” Mhaga said.

Judge Koen concluded that Zuma must not delay or pull focus from the primary purpose of his trial, and his trial must resume without distractions.

I guess we’ll have to wait till April to know the next step in the trial.