Jacob Zuma Accused of Surviving on Bribes While Deputy President and MEC
-Former president Jacob Zuma will be appearing in court on Monday on charges of corruption
- The State alleges that the former president survived by accepting bribes during his tenure as MEC and deputy president
- Contesting his defence that the irregular payments cited were loans, the State aims to prove that the monies deposited into his account were never repaid
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Former president Jacob Zuma will appear in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday to defend himself against allegations of accepting bribes during his tenure as MEC in KZN and as the deputy president of the country.
Source: Facebook
The former president will be standing trial for charges of racketeering, two counts of corruption and 12 counts of fraud. Zuma will be conducting his own legal representation.
Some of the charges levelled against Zuma include the upgrades made to his Nkandla home, reportedly paid for by Schabir Shaik, as part of a bribe. Zuma is charged along with French company Thales for seeking an arms deal bid.
According to the allegations, these annual payments were to continue until the first payments of dividends by African Defence Systems. The allegations further state that remuneration for the agreement was to be paid in instalments of R250 000.
According to Shaik, the total remuneration was to be R1 million. The State recorded an amount of R4 million through 783 payments to Zuma by two different companies.
Zuma’s defence claims that these monies were loans that were given to the former president, however the State contests these claims, arguing that no effort of repayment was ever made.
According to the charge sheet, South Africa’s interim constitution and final constitution imposed certain duties upon Zuma by virtue of his office as an MEC of a province. The final Constitution also barred Zuma from gaining additional income.
Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that former president Jacob Zuma's troubles have multiplied. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that he must repay an estimated R16 million in legal fees.
The court dismissed his appeal dating back to the 2018 ruling that the former president must pay back his personal legal fees relating to his corruption case.
The court ruled that the decision to pay Zuma's legal fees was ‘unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid’ according to eNCA.
The total amount owed by Zuma comes up to an estimated R16.78 million. The SCA ruled in its scathing judgement that Zuma's costs must also take into account his allegations that the court had not acted impartially, according to the Daily Maverick.
Zuma faces charges of one count of racketeering, two counts of corruption, one count of money laundering and 12 counts of fraud. His case has dragged out over the years but is set to resume in May.
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Source: Briefly News
