Former president Jacob Zuma has suggested his successor Cyril Ramaphosa was wrong not to appeal the state capture report judgments that order Zuma to personally pay the estimated R10-million legal fees attached to the cases.
Zuma says he believes the North Gauteng High Court is unfairly “punishing me” for seeking to challenge former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report, despite his continued belief that he was correct in doing so.
“I would have liked to intervene way before the application for leave to appeal was withdrawn by the Office of the President of the Republic of South Africa. That I do not agree with the withdrawal of the application for leave to appeal by the current president is not relevant for present purposes,” Zuma stated in an affidavit filed at the North Gauteng High Court.
According to Zuma, being forced to pay the legal costs of the state capture cases “poses a significant financial burden on me personally”.
