The Democratic Alliance has asked the North Gauteng High Court to review and set aside the government’s decision to pay former President Jacob Zuma‘s legal bills.
This after President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed in a written reply to Parliament on Thursday that the government had used sections of the State Attorney and Public Finance Management Acts as the legal basis for the expenditure.
The Democratic Alliance has rejected President Ramaphosa’s explanation of why the state agreed to pay former president legal bills.
Political analyst Dirk Kotze says, “It’s going to dominate the period of the campaign leading up to next year’s national and provincial elections because it can be negative for the ANC. Though, Zuma wasn’t the president then, it is a negative reflection on the ANC. So, I think from that point of view, Zuma’s public prominence in the media and the news and the public debates are far from over.”
It’s so appalled by the reasons provided, that the party has now asked the North Gauteng High Court to set the decision aside.
The United Democratic Movement concurs with the DA’s move to challenge the decision in court.
Meanwhile, African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Ace Magashule says the issue of Jacob Zuma’s legal expenses hasn’t yet featured in their discussions.
So far, Zuma’s legal bills are calculated at just over R15.3 million.
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The EFF has also vowed to approach the courts in coming days to compel former president Jacob Zuma to pay back state money used for his legal fees relating to his corruption case.
This in the back of what they described as unsatisfactory response from President Cyril Ramaphosa to a question by EFF leader Julius Malema on the legal provision relied on to fund Zuma’s legal fees.
EFF spokesperson, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi says the president’s response is flawed.
