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Jacob Zuma

PRETORIA. — President Jacob Zuma is considering his options after the Pretoria High Court dismissed his application for leave to appeal its decision that he should face corruption charges. “The presidency has noted the decision of the North Gauteng High Court and is studying the judgment,” spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said.

President Zuma failed yesterday in his appeal against a court ruling that corruption charges against him be reinstated, another setback for the leader who has been facing calls for his resignation.

The National Prosecuting Authority and President Zuma’s lawyers had asked for leave to appeal the court’s ruling on April 29, that the decision to discontinue his prosecution on corruption charges should be reviewed and set aside.

Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said then-NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe acted irrationally after coming under pressure.

He ruled that another court was unlikely to come to a different conclusion, and therefore Zuma’s leave to appeal was denied.

President Zuma and the NPA could now petition the Supreme Court of Appeal or the Constitutional Court directly. Even if the original judgment stood, the NPA could still decide not to prosecute based on other reasons. DA federal executive council chairperson James Selfe said President Zuma could now have his day in court and face the 783 charges.

Hilton Epstein, for the NPA, argued before the court earlier this month that Mpshe would have acted in bad faith if he had continued the prosecution, knowing there had been an abuse of the prosecutorial process. On April 6, 2009, Mpshe said transcripts of telephone conversations between then-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka showed political interference in the decision to charge Zuma.

The ruling puts further pressure on President Zuma after a damning constitutional court judgment against him in March, and comes six weeks before local elections at which the ruling African National Congress faces a strong challenge from opponents seeking to capitalise on what they see as his missteps.

The rand cheered the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria, paring some losses after it fell more than 8 percent to the dollar in the wake of Britain’s shock referendum vote to leave the European Union.

The court said President Zuma and National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams, who had appealed the earlier ruling alongside the president, had no grounds to do so.

“The matter is of course important for Mr Zuma. However, if the appeal does not have reasonable prospects for success, leave to appeal should not be granted,” Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said. — Reuters/News24/HR.