caption: Jacob Zuma (L) fell out with Cyril Ramaphosa after his resignation in February 2018
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma says he has launched a private prosecution against his successor Cyril Ramaphosa.
The announcement was made by the Jacob Zuma Foundation on Thursday night which said President Ramaphosa was charged for “serious crimes” at a Johannesburg court.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has been charged in a private prosecution with the criminal offence of being accessory after the fact in the crimes committed by among others Advocate Downer namely, breaching the provisions of the [National Prosecuting Authority] NPA Act,” the foundation said in a statement.
It added that the crimes carry a sentence of 15 years imprisonment.
In a response on Twitter on Friday, President Ramaphosa accused Mr Zuma of “abuse of legal processes”.
He termed the charges as “completely spurious and unfounded”.