Staff Reporter
Former president Jacob Zuma is expected to ask the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to overturn a ruling that he repay nearly R29 million in public money spent on his private legal battles.
Zuma is challenging a Gauteng High Court order that he repay R28,960,774.34, plus interest, to the Office of the State Attorney for legal fees incurred in his criminal prosecution and related litigation over several years.
The case is the latest stage in a long-running battle over whether the state was entitled to fund Zuma’s private legal defence, including litigation linked to his arms-deal corruption prosecution.
The Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters previously challenged the arrangement, arguing that taxpayers should not be made to fund Zuma’s personal legal costs.
In 2018, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that the state was not liable for legal costs incurred by Zuma in his personal capacity. The Supreme Court of Appeal upheld that finding in 2021, ruling that the State Attorney Act did not authorise the state to pay Zuma’s private legal fees.
The SCA said attorneys and counsel appointed to represent Zuma were acting for him personally, not on behalf of the government. It also found that the state was obliged to take steps to recover the money.
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In October 2025, the Gauteng High Court ordered Zuma to repay the R28,960,774.34, with interest. The court gave him 60 days to pay and said the State Attorney could take enforcement steps if he failed to do so.
Zuma later failed in a High Court bid for leave to appeal the repayment order.
He has argued that he should not personally bear the liability because the payments were authorised by state officials.
