South Africa: Zuma ordered to pay massive legal fees

01 Novembre 2020

Cape Town, South Africa, October 31 (Infosplusgabon) – Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s legal woes continue to mount.

The Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed his leave to appeal a ruling by another court, which stated he was reckless in instituting a review of then public protector, Thuli Madonsela's State of Capture Report in 2016.

Zuma was seeking to appeal an order by the Gauteng High Court which had directed him to pay the costs of a failed application to review and set aside Madonsela’s ruling that he was required to appoint a commission to conduct an inquiry into allegations of corruption involving him as the head of state as well as senior officials in the government.

Justice Anthony Schippers said Zuma's attempt to relitigate the merits of the review “constitutes an abuse of process”.

The ruling means that Zuma is now required to pay all legal costs relating to the appeal which are expected to amount to millions of dollars.

In August, the Constitutional Court dismissed Zuma's appeal against a High Court ruling that he defamed liberation hero, Derek Hanekom, who he accused of being a "known enemy agent".

As previously reported by PANA, Hannekom who served as a Cabinet Minister under Zuma, sued his former boss for US$38,000, claiming that the accusations made on Zuma’s official Twitter account had caused “immense harm and damage” to his reputation.

Zuma has faced significant legal challenges before, during and after his presidency. He was charged with rape in 2005, but was acquitted. He has fought a long legal battle over allegations of racketeering and corruption and is expected to stand trial next year.

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