Zuma headline says it all

Your bold headline told the story of former president Jacob Zuma’s struggle to avoid facing the charges that arose as a result of his suspected involvement in the arms deal some 20 years back (“Torrent of abuse at prosecutor ‘unlike anything seen before’”, September 29).

Zuma believes he will be treated unfairly by prosecutor Billy Downer and unsuccessfully attempted to have him removed from the prosecuting team.

At the time charges of corruption were laid against Zuma, the head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Bulelani Ngcuka, said there was prima facie evidence of Zuma’s participation in corruption but the case might not be winnable. So it was dropped, and it later emerged there was fear of widespread civil unrest by Zuma followers if he were to be prosecuted.

In 2016 the state reinstated the charges and the circus began. An associate of Zuma, Schabir Shaik, was found guilty by judge Hilary Squires in 2005 of corruption and fraud and sentenced to a jail term of 15 years for his involvement in the arms deal procurement case. He was given a medical parole after a three-year stint in prison.

Had Zuma not been such a high-profile individual, the courts might have decided long ago that he is a vexatious litigant, disallowed him from continuing with his claims and fixed a date for him to answer the 783 serious accusations listed on the charge sheet.

Ted O’Connor Albertskroon