State Capture report: Court rules Zuma must pay for legal bid

The North Gauteng High Court ruled President Jacob Zuma must be held personally liable for all costs of his failed litigation against the State of Capture report.

Judge Dustan Mlambo told the High Court that Zuma will have to fork out payment for legal costs. 

"The President's overall conduct leaves one with no option but to find that he must be held personally liable for all costs occassioned from 14 October 2016. The President is ordered to personally pay for all costs referred to in Paragraph 3 of the order made by this court on 1 November 2016 to the extent that such costs were incurred after 14 October 2016," he says. 

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Mlambo also went through the details of the case that led to the DA launching its court application. He says opposition parties had previously questioned why Zuma had relied on state funds in his application to interdict the State of Capture Report.

"They asserted that the President should have enlisted the services of private attorneys at his own cost as was done by Minister Van Rooyen. In their view, there was no basis for the President to burden the taxpayer with legal costs of his application. They thus contended that the President ought to be held liable in his personal capacity," he says.  

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Mlambo says Zuma himself did not know for sure about the status of the Thuli Madonsela's report - whether it was finalised or not.

"Was it reasonable for the president to simply focus on the first statement made by Fourie and ignore the second. My view is that it was completely unreasonable for the president to have persisted with his stance that the finalised status of the report remained unresolved from 14 until 26 October 2016. 

"It was also unreasonable of him not to seek any clarification of the status quo in view of the fact that everyone involved in the investigation held a contrary view to his. The facts speaks volumes of the clearly unreasonable stance adopted by the president," he says.

Zuma has also been ordered to set up a judicial inquiry into state capture allegations. 

"The president is directed to appoint a Commission of Inquiry within 30 days - headed by a judge selected by the Chief Justice who will give one name to the President. The President shall take all steps, sign all documents which are necessary to give effect the remedial action. The President shall ensure that the judge that is to head the Commission of Inquiry is given all power to appoint his or her own staff and to investigate all issues using the Public Protector's investigation and the State of Capture report," he says.

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