SCA orders Zuma to pay back the legal bills
The Supreme Court of
Appeal (SCA) has dismissed an application for leave to appeal by
former president Jacob Zuma against a judgment of the High Court which found
that the state is not liable for the legal costs in his criminal cases.
Taxpayers have been footing his legal bills which has cost the fiscus millions.
The SCA found that Zuma had been significantly enriched by the payments.
Judges described the state’s blank cheque to pay private lawyers as shocking.
The court ruled that there’s no legal basis whatsoever to defend the payments in Zuma’s criminal prosecution.
In the scathing judgement, the court found that there’s no public or legitimate interest in supporting Zuma to defend himself in respect of charges of dishonesty and corruption.
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The SCA stated that a repayment order may well be essential to remedy the abuse of public resources, vindicate the rule of law, and reaffirm the constitutional principles of accountability and transparency - especially by a former incumbent of the highest office in the land.
President Cyril Ramaphosa replied to a parliamentary question by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that the state had spent R15.3 million on Zuma’s legal costs since 2016.
Zuma has also been slapped with cost order.
