Billy Downer

William John Downer is a South African prosecutor, known for his prosecution of high profile government corruption cases. He is in the employ of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa and is currently attached to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Western Cape, where he holds the rank of Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. He is an admitted Advocate, upon whom Senior Counsel status has been conferred.

Background

Downer attended the Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa's administrative capital, Pretoria, where he excelled in sports and drama. In 1979, he graduated in law from Stellenbosch University and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Brasenose College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, where he obtained the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree. He thereafter, joined the South African Department of Justice, the forerunner to the National Prosecuting Authority, where he to date remains employed. He lives with his partner, William De Villiers, in Cape Town, South Africa.[1][2]

Notable cases

Downer is a career civil servant who has largely focused on prosecuting corruption and other high-profile commercial crimes cases. He is currently seized with the prosecution of the former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma on charges of racketeering, money laundering, fraud and corruption. The allegations against the former President relate to a government arms procurement deal, dating back to 1999.[3] In 2005, Downer secured the conviction of the businessman financial advisor of Jacob Zuma, Schabir Shaik, also in relation to the said arms deal.[4] Downer's investigations in that matter had led to the discovery of a handwritten encrypted fax, in French, promising an amount of R500,000 per annum to 'JZ' until payment of the African Defence Systems dividends,[5] which was key to securing the conviction of Shaik on two counts of corruption and one count of fraud. The prosecution of Zuma himself has, however, been mired for years, with Zuma having been accused of using Stalingrad tactics to evade his day in court.[6][7] Zuma is now set to go on trial in 2020.[8]

Another notable case that was prosecuted by Downer was the corruption matter of former Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, Arno Lamoer. Lamoer was found guilty in early 2018.[9][10]

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References
  1. "Friday Briefing | Waiting in the wings: Billy Downer's long wait is finally over". News24. 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  2. Basson, Adriaan. "The man who won't go down". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  3. Rabkin, Franny. "Zuma will get his day in court in 2020 — maybe". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  4. Sapa-AFP, Matthew Burbidge. "Shaik guilty". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  5. "Shaik: French fax surfaces". News24. 2004-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  6. "Zuma's Stalingrad tactic has backfired, and it'll cost him more than money". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  7. Town, Bill Corcoran in Cape. "Zuma employing 'Stalingrad defence' as legal stalling strategy". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  8. "Zuma trial postponed to 2020". eNCA. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  9. "WCape police commissioner charged with corruption". citizen.co.za. April 17, 2015. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  10. "Former Western Cape top cop Arno Lamoer found guilty of corruption | IOL News". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
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