"I promise the court and my learned friend that the application will be substantial - not just in volume but in weight and content and seriousness for this constitutional democracy‚" he added.
Insisting that the request for more time was not part of any stalling tactic that his legal team had inherited‚ Hellens said Zuma deserved a fair trial and therefore the preparation of the application could not be rushed.
In 2007‚ Zuma's then advocate Kemp J Kemp told the Durban High Court: "We have adopted a ‘Stalingrad’ strategy in response to this prosecution... We will fight [the state] in every street‚ in every house‚ and in every room."
Since then‚ under instruction from Zuma's long-time attorney Michael Hulley‚ the former president’s defence team has tried every possible legal avenue to prevent him from being prosecuted.
Hulley was formally excused from the matter following concerns over funding.
The state is currently funding Zuma's legal battle‚ pending a North Gauteng High Court application brought by the DA for the former president to pay his own way.
On Friday‚ Hellens told the court that there were no funding issues with Zuma's new legal team and they were there to stay.
Madondo granted Hellens three months to prepare the application to keep Zuma out of a trial court.
A holding trial date has been set‚ meaning that Zuma will appear in court again on November 30.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
