Issued by Daniela Ellerbeck on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation on 04/04/2025

The Constitutional Court refused to hear former President Jacob Zuma’s application for leave to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (“SCA”) judgment. This order, made on 31 March 2025, marks the end of Zuma’s private prosecution against journalist Karyn Maughan, which started on 5 September 2022.

“The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes the Constitutional Court’s order, affirming public confidence in the judiciary and protecting journalists from vexatious litigation aimed at intimidating and silencing journalists. That the courts protect the right to freedom of expression, especially freedom of the press and other media, even if they are investigating high-profile individuals, is crucial for public confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law,” states Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme Manager.

“The High Court’s judgment – that Zuma appealed to the SCA – determined that his private prosecutions against Maughan and Prosecutor Downer were ‘an abuse of process… instituted for an ulterior purpose’ (paragraphs 197 and 198). The SCA found that Zuma’s appeal to it – asking it to suspend the High Court’s order and allow him to continue these private prosecutions – lacked legal foundation (paragraph 22),” explains Shanees Nkandu, an intern at the Foundation. “The SCA found that public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice would have been undermined if Maughan and Prosecutor Downer were subjected to an ‘unlawful, abusive and oppressive private prosecution’ (paragraph 18),” concludes Nkandu.