Journalist Maughan fights Zuma’s ‘meritless charges’

News24 journalist Karyn Maughan has lodged papers in the Pietermaritzburg high court seeking an interdict to stop former president Jacob Zuma’s “private prosecution” of her on “meritless charges”.

Zuma summonsed Maughan and Billy Downer, lead prosecutor in Zuma’s corruption and fraud trial, in August to appear in the court on October 10, where he intends prosecuting them on allegations that Downer leaked documents to Maughan.

Downer hit back, denying wrongdoing. He is demanding Zuma deposit at least R1m as security for legal costs. It is widely thought Zuma cannot afford this.

Maughan also launched pretrial proceedings. She is seeking an order setting aside the summons and putting a stop to the private prosecution.

She says the summons is a “gross abuse of court process” for ulterior purposes of intimidating and harassing her and preventing her from doing her job and reporting on Zuma’s arms-deal trial. “There are absolutely no prospects of [Zuma’s] success,” she says.

“My reporting on Mr Zuma’s trial and other politically charged matters has raised the ire of Mr Zuma and his supporters. I have been repeatedly maligned and threatened, including by members of his family and representatives of the Jacob G Zuma Foundation, for doing my job.”

Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Sambudla-Zuma, had posted a tweet referencing journalists being beaten up in Sri Lanka together with a threat: “@KarynMaughan Come Look Here.” She also tweeted that Maughan would “look good in orange”.

Maughan said the online abuse was calculated to intimidate her and “serve as a threat to journalists in general”. The charges against her were baseless. She obtained the court papers, which were public documents, and reported on them.

This was when Zuma was applying for postponement of his trial on grounds of illness. The medical report, submitted to trial judge Piet Koen to support the application was attached to the state’s and Zuma’s papers. Koen ruled that it did not contain anything significantly confidential.

Maughan said she had a right not to be subjected to private prosecution on meritless charges. An interdict was the only remedy available to ensure “the harm I have already suffered is finally brought to a stop”.

She asked for her matter to be heard on October 10 and for punitive costs against Zuma.

Downer’s matter is expected to be heard that day. He says in his application that Zuma put down a deposit of only R90,000 as security for costs of the trial that would take at least 10 court days with the former president intending to call 23 witnesses.

Downer says that deposit is “negligible” and he calculates his costs at R504,000 for senior counsel fees, R450,000 for junior counsel fees, consultation fees of R99,000 and other contingencies R5,000 about R1,058,000 in total.

The fraud, corruption and money-laundering cases against Zuma and French arms group Thales have been on hold, with Zuma trying repeatedly to have Downer taken off the case, arguing that he is biased and prejudiced against him.

Koen has already dismissed Zuma’s contention that Downer has no “title to prosecute” him. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) refused to grant Zuma leave to appeal.

Zuma’s latest application is pending at the Constitutional Court, where he is seeking an order compelling the SCA to hear his appeal.

Koen set October 17 as another “holding date” pending a Constitutional Court decision.