Jacob Zuma pleads with SA for money to pay legal fees

Former president Jacob Zuma wants your help in settling his R18.2 million legal bill.

By / / Viral
Jacob Zuma legal fees

Former president Jacob Zuma has launched a crowdfunding campaign to settle his ballooning legal fees.

How much legal fees does Jacob Zuma owe?

Cyril Ramaphosa’s predecessor has been embroiled in court battles for decades, over his alleged involvement in a number of high-profile graft cases.

The Arms Deal saga, for one, pit Zuma as a crucial link in a web of underhanded monetary exchanges that milked billions out of South Africa’s public purse.

During his tenure as head of state, the former president raked up a legal bill totalling more than R18.2 million, according to the NPA’s Deputy State Attorney Isaac Chowe who, in July, filed an affidavit at the Gauteng High Court, detailing the extensive legal debt Zuma’s accumulated over the years.

At the time, the Jacob Zuma Foundation noted receipt of a copy of the affidavit, stating that it would consult the former president “for further instructions.”

Chowe warned that should Zuma fail to honour his debt, a summons would be issued.

How to donate to Msholozi

Zuma is currently receiving medical treatment outside of Estcourt correctional services centre. According to the corrections department, the former president was forced out of prison after his health deteriorated shortly after his incarceration.

Despite this, the liability still stands and it seems his creditors want their money. Without the ANC’s backing which, by the way, is dealing with its own financial woes, the Jacob Zuma Foundation turned to the former president’s supporters.

The organisation has launched a fundraising campaign, asking the public to make donations “to help cover the legal fees of our patron.”

Pro-Zuma supporters are asked to send whatever they can to a Capitec Bank account number and provide proof of payment to a WhatsApp number manned by the foundation’s representatives.

Here’s how social media reacted to the request: