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If former president Jacob Zuma is going to appeal the comprehensive court defeat that he suffered last week over his legal fees, the DA will probably ask that he cough up for security for costs.
James Selfe, chairperson of the DA’s federal executive committee, said an appeal would turn the tables on Zuma.
On Thursday, a full Bench of the Pretoria High Court ruled that Zuma would have to cover his own legal costs as well as repay the state for the taxpayer funds he used to cover his civil and criminal appeals over the past decade.
In 2009, when the DA launched an application to review the decision to drop corruption charges against Zuma, “he demanded that we pay an amount of R1 million into a trust account in case we lose”, said Selfe.
Now, the DA will demand that Zuma provide security for its costs should he decide to proceed with an appeal against this judgment.
However, the DA also wants to avoid any further delays and, to this end, will apply to court to have the court order implemented immediately, so that it is not suspended by any appeals that may follow.
In fact, it was Zuma’s so-called Stalingrad strategy of continually appealing judgments that caused Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba to comment that a person with endless access to taxpayer funds can delay justice for a long time.
A source close to the parties in the court matter told City Press’ sister publication, Rapport, that the Zuma camp was still considering the possibility of an appeal.
If the DA succeeds in having the order implemented immediately, it would have far-reaching consequences for Zuma.
Not only did the court rule that he had to pay back all the legal costs incurred on his behalf, but also that the state attorney should consider all possible steps, including civil litigation, to get the money back.
In addition, the state attorney must submit a progress report within three months to ensure that there are no further delays.
Zuma’s new legal bill is estimated to total anywhere between R16 million and R32 million. The uncertainty about the exact amount must be resolved by the state attorney.
Selfe said the party would also be sending Zuma the bill for the latest court defeat.
“That includes the costs of three lawyers, which could amount to between R750 000 and R1 million.”
In response to rumours that ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal wanted to help the former president raise funds, Selfe said that if the ANC wanted to side with fraud, corruption and bribery, they were welcome to do so.
“But Zuma is in a position to settle this debt. He gets an annual salary of R3 million and he can pay it off in instalments. But pay he will have to,” said Selfe.
Zuma’s publicly known assets will not cover the bill.
According to reports, his house in Forest Town, Johannesburg, is on the market for R6.5 million.
He does not own his Nkandla property. Rapport has previously reported that he rents the land from the Ingonymana Trust at a cost of R800 a month.
He does, however, have a loan of R7.8 million from the now collapsed VBS Mutual Bank, which must still be serviced.
The curators of VBS have said that they will try to collect on all the loans in their loan book.
Sizwe Pamla, the spokesperson for labour federation Cosatu, said on Saturday there was no way the trade union would assist Zuma.
“In fact, we are going to discourage anybody who wants to give him money,” he told News24.
