Zuma thanks supporters for support during contempt sentence
Former president Jacob Zuma has thanked his supporters for standing by him during his sentence for contempt court.
He addressed a small crowd outside the High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.
The former president attended proceedings in his private prosecution of News24 journalist Karyn Maughan and state prosecutor Billy Downer.
He is accusing them of leaking his medical records.
Zuma also spoke about his corruption case, telling his supporters the case has been dismissed many times, only for the state to return to court.
"State prosecutor Billy Downer that I have taken to court now, previously went to court and produced evidence that I must be kept behind bars no matter what, and he shouldn't have done that since he was the one in charge of the case."
READ: Zuma case: Maughan, Downer matter postponed
News24 editor Adriaan Basson was the Pietermaritzburg High Court to support Maughan.
He says it's a sad day for journalism in South Africa.
The High Court in Pietermaritzburg heard on Monday that Downer and Maughan have filed applications to have the matter set aside, saying it is an abuse of court processes.
"We think it is a grave day when a politician, specifically a former president, tries to imprison a journalist. There are other avenues for people who are aggrieved with the media to take us to the BCCSA in the case of broadcast and radio, to the press council and the Ombudsman in the case of print and digital," Basson said.
"Karyn has been reporting on this case for almost 20 years. She is a very senior journalist. She understands the merits of this case. Mr Zuma and his team has obviously been irked by her reportage, so we do believe that his is an attempt to silence and intimidate her."
MORE ON ECR
