MK Party leader Jacob Zuma says he will consult his lawyers in the wake of government’s attempt to recoup about R28.9m spent on his legal fees fighting the marathon arms deal corruption case.
At a media briefing in Durban on Thursday, Zuma said he would not comment further on the matter until he had met his lawyers.
“I am going to be meeting my lawyers, so I cannot comment in detail at the moment,” he said.
The state’s application follows a 2024 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling which found that Zuma was not entitled to taxpayer-funded legal support and must pay back the state.
The money was used to cover Zuma’s legal costs in his arms deal case, which started in 1999.
On Wednesday the Pretoria high court ordered Zuma to pay back the money advanced for his legal fees in his personal capacity, with interest.
These are all the monies disbursed by the state towards Zuma’s legal costs relating to a criminal prosecution and ancillary litigation instituted against him in his personal capacity.
Zuma was given 60 days to settle the bill.
The court also directed the state attorney to report under oath every three months on the steps taken to recover the debt until it is fully paid.
On Thursday, Zuma took a swipe at the Government of National Unity (GNU) saying it is a fragile, elitist pact of political rejects that has exposed the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of those who seek to govern without legitimacy.
“It is an arrangement born not of democratic will but of desperation to maintain the status quo and to prevent true transformation. It is in this context that the uMkhonto weSizwe Party stands as the legitimate continuation of the liberation struggle, as the revolutionary alternative to the stagnation of the current order and as the political home for all South Africans who yearn for genuine freedom, justice and dignity,” he said.
We should also make South Africans aware that there will be a true test of the so-called GNU when the time comes for parliament to vote for or against the implementation of the outcomes of the ad-hoc committee’s parliamentary report.
— Jacob Zuma, MK Party leader
Zuma said the country is gripped by a deep moral and institutional crisis.
He lauded KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and members of the Political Killings Task Team, whose explosive revelations have shaken the foundations of the criminal justice system.
“His courage has exposed how the state apparatus is manipulated to protect the interests of the few whilst persecuting the many. As the MK Party we demand full accountability from those implicated and therefore we will use every parliamentary and legal instrument at our disposal to ensure that the truth triumphs over corruption and cover-ups,” he said.
Zuma said they are very concerned about the use of state police resources to protect private corporate interests, as witnessed at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), a scenario disturbingly reminiscent of when Cyril Ramaphosa infamously called for “concomitant action” against the Marikana miners, which led to the massacre of 34 innocent workers.
Last month, Mkhwanazi told the Madlanga Commission that RBM pressured national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola and President Ramaphosa to deploy elite police units to address a series of murders of its top executives. RBM has said it would respond to the allegations.
“Once again, the lives of black South Africans are treated as expendable in defence of private capital. We reiterate our commitment and support for the work of the parliamentary ad-hoc committee into allegations made by Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi, as only parliament can hold the executive to account and bring real criminals to justice.
“We should also make South Africans aware that there will be a true test of the so-called GNU when the time comes for parliament to vote for or against the implementation of the outcomes of the ad-hoc committee’s parliamentary report. As MK Party, we have no hope that the GNU will vote positively for the implementation of the report which aims to hold Mr Ramaphosa and his cabinet accountable,” he said.
Zuma further called on the Constitutional Court to unseal the CR17 bank statements and for the ad-hoc committee to call upon Ipid to declassify the Phala-Phala report.
“The MK Party rejects the Roman-Dutch legal framework which continues to govern our society in contradiction to our indigenous African value systems.
“We renew our call for lifestyle audits of members of the judiciary, especially in light of Gen Mkhwanazi’s allegations, which confirm what the MK Party has long been exposing, that judicial officers are not immune to corruption or political manipulation. This further confirms MK Party’s view that the judiciary has been corrupted and over compromised,” he said.
He also introduced former ANC NEC member Tony Yengeni as second deputy president of the party, adding he was well positioned to help grow the party.
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