JOHANNESBURG - Former president Jacob Zuma on Wednesday shot back at arguments that his "leaked" medical note wasn’t confidential.
He said he didn’t want his family, and especially his children, to know about his health problems.
Last year, Zuma opened a criminal case against the lead prosecutor in his corruption trial, State advocate Billy Downer, over what he described as the "leaking" of a "confidential" medical note to News24 journalist Karyn Maughan.
Zuma claimed Maughan received the medical note the day before it was presented in court to ensure she continued what he described as her “legendary adverse reporting” on him.
He argued her reporting on his corruption trial, which she’s been covering for the last decade, had simply been aimed at advancing the State’s view that he was using delaying tactics to stave off his trial.
He said her view was that as part of this strategy, he faked his medical condition with the help of his lawyers and he labelled this “misconceived” and “false,” maintaining that he’s only used “permissible legal strategies to hold the State to the fair trial standard”.
