The State Attorney has given former President Jacob Zuma until Wednesday to withdraw the summons ordering President Cyril Ramaphosa to appear in court in January.

The State Attorney said it wanted the summons to be unconditionally withdrawn as it reflected the former president's attorneys' lack of understanding of the law. It also said it believed the summons would be declared unconstitutional and invalid.

It added, "We hold instructions to approach the court for appropriate interdictory relief pending the setting aside of the summons. Alternatively, the summons and the certificate, should your client decline to withdraw the summons unconditionally. "

Zuma announced on Thursday that he had instituted a private prosecution against Ramaphosa in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. He accused Ramaphosa of being an "accessory after the fact" to alleged misconduct by advocate Billy Downer, the prosecutor in his arms deal corruption case.

The State Attorney dismissed this accusation and attached a letter, dated 25 August 2021, in which Ramaphosa informed him that he had referred the misconduct allegations against Downer to the Department of Justice and Correctional Services.

On Friday, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa requested the justice minister to refer the misconduct charges against Downer to the Legal Practice Council.

The State Attorney also denied the accusation that it or Ramaphosa shared the letter addressed to Zuma on 17 December in response to the summons against the president with News24 legal journalist Karyn Maughan. It said this was concerning, considering Zuma's charges against Maughan and Downer.

The charges relate to News24's publication of an update on Zuma's medical condition. The document was contained in court papers lodged at the High Court in 2021.

News24 has previously reported that the documents filed at the court are deemed public records unless a judge instructs otherwise. There was no instruction in this instance.

The publication didn't reveal details of Zuma's condition. Furthermore, Maughan didn't obtain it from Downer.