Zuma vs Ramaphosa legal showdown set for September

Former president Jacob Zuma’s bid to set aside President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to place Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu on special leave and appoint Wits law Professor Feroz Cachalia as acting minister is set down for a legal showdown next month.

The matter was scheduled to be heard in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, but it went for case management.

Special motion

On Wednesday, the court set the case for a hearing in September.

“As discussed, the matter is hereby set down as a special motion on 18 September 2025 before a full court,” the Judiciary said.

Apex court loss

The matter by Zuma and the MK party comes after their recent loss in the Constitutional Court.

Zuma and the MK party want the high court to set aside Ramaphosa’s decision to place Mchunu on special leave.

ALSO READ: Zuma files urgent bid to challenge Ramaphosa’s Mchunu decision after ConCourt loss

They also want the appointment of Cachalia as acting police minister and the establishment of a commission of inquiry to be declared invalid, null, void, unconstitutional and set aside.

Jurisdiction

The Constitutional Court, on 31 July 2025, ruled that the application does not engage the court’s jurisdiction and refused direct access to the MK party and Zuma in their matter against Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa’s lawyer, Kate Hofmeyr, argued that cases that can be decided exclusively by the Constitutional Court are very limited, prompting Zuma to take the matter to the high court.

Sibiya

Zuma’s challenge to Ramaphosa’s decisions follows allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police chief Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who claimed that the South African justice system was infiltrated by criminals, and that Mchunu intervened to disband the KZN political killings task team in order to shield individuals linked to politically connected crime syndicates.

The Gauteng High Court also scheduled the case of Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, who is eagerly waiting to clear his name.

A court battle is looming as Sibiya is expected to challenge his boss, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola’s decision to place him on leave of absence pending an investigation.

Court battle

However, the matter was delayed on Tuesday after Sibiya filed an interlocutory affidavit, requesting that it be heard before a full bench of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

Masemola placed Sibiya on a leave of absence in July, following the series of explosive allegations made by Mkhwanazi earlier in that month.

ALSO READ: MK party and Zuma suffer blow as ConCourt rules in Ramaphosa’s favour [VIDEO]

Sibiya is contesting his suspension, maintaining his innocence and claiming that Masemola’s decision was both unlawful and procedurally flawed.

PKTT

Sibiya denied he was involved in the disbanding of the Political Killings Task Team.

Mkhwanazi accused Sibiya of being a “criminal” and doing Mchunu’s bidding.

He is also accused of executing instructions from Mchunu to disband the task team, allegedly to protect criminal syndicates.

The Cat

Mkhwanazi said the team was disbanded when it was close to exposing suspects behind high-profile murders in Gauteng, alleging that Sibiya and Mchunu were associated with murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

It is alleged that Matlala has been able to influence Mchunu into doing his bidding.

Mchunu has denied the allegations.

Matlala, along with his wife Tsakane Matlala and co-accused Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Nzama, face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and money laundering, as well as attempting to defeat justice.

He is also accused of laundering millions, including funds linked to a R360 million South African Police Service (Saps) health services tender.

MK party

Last month, the MK party said it would keep a close eye on the legal proceedings against Matlala following explosive revelations by Mkhwanazi.

Sibiya is demanding to return to work after giving Masemola a deadline to reverse his decision to suspend him.

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