Cape Town – Former president Jacob Zuma needs “millions” of rands to cover his legal fees, the Jacob Zuma foundation has revealed, adding that his cases require seasoned senior councils who “don’t come cheap”.
Zuma’s spokesperson, Mzwanele Manyi, admitted during an interview with eNCA that the 79-year-old’s finances were so dire that he had to resort to asking the public for donations.
“They (finances) have been like this (dire) for a while and the impression that he (zuma) has stashes of money is really just fake news.
“He is struggling and he is trying to get money to pay for lawyers and his bills amount to millions of rands and they emanate from the time he was president up to the current bills with the two cases that are ongoing. So he is indeed struggling,” said Manyi.
Manyi said that although Zuma was still getting his monthly salary, he could not afford to pay his legal fees.
Watch the interview below (courtesy eNCA)
“Nobody can be ready to pay for tons of lawyers’ fees. When we deal with the kinds of cases that his excellency president Zuma is dealing with, you need seasoned senior councils and they don’t come cheap, because the work requires a lot of research, a lot of preparation,” said Manyi.
The Jacob Zuma foundation recently shared a plea via its official Twitter account, asking the former president’s supporters to donate to cover his legal costs.
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“Dear People of SA and the world. Please lend a helping hand. We humbly request donations support to help cover the legal fees of our patron,” the foundation said, adding banking details for donations.
According to Times Live, the foundation assured those who donated that the money they were donating was not received by the Jacob Zuma Foundation but by Zuma directly.
“The Capitec bank account is legitimate and belongs to H.E President Zuma. It is not the account of the foundation.
Dear All
Just to clarify.
The Capitec Bank Account below is legitimate and belongs to H.E President Zuma.
It is not the Account of the Foundation.
The Foundation is merely providing a service to its jailed Patron.
This fundraising project has full endorsement of President Zuma. https://t.co/AMp6qktOnj— JGZuma Foundation (Official) (@JGZ_Foundation) August 30, 2021
“The foundation is merely providing a service to its jailed patron. This fundraising project has [the] full endorsement of President Zuma.”
In December 2018 – months after he was ousted from the presidency by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) — Zuma was ordered by a court to reimburse the state the equivalent of more than a million dollars that had been spent on his legal bills.
Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering linked to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.
He is accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales, which has also been charged with corruption. Both have pleaded not guilty.
ALSO READ | Arms deal trial: Jacob Zuma ready to shift the blame to ANC, Nelson Mandela
The trial started in May after numerous postponements and delays, as Zuma’s legal team battled to have the charges dropped.
His next court appearance, initially set for early August, was pushed back to September after Zuma was hospitalised days prior for an undisclosed illness.
Zuma’s legal fees are estimated to have cost the state at least $1.1 million, according to the presidency.
Zuma, who has also been ordered to pay back several million dollars in state funds spent on renovating his private residence, in 2019 said he was so broke he had to sell his hats and socks to foot his legal bill.
He is currently serving a 15-month jail sentence for snubbing a judicial panel probing graft during his tenure.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional reporting by AFP
