While VBS Mutual Bank liquidator Anoosh Rooplal on Tuesday obtained a court order allowing him to seize assets owned by former president Jacob Zuma, his Nkandla homestead will not be added to the list of items they can seize.
Zuma has an outstanding loan debt of R7.8m.
Rooplal’s spokesperson Louise Brugman confirmed that default judgment was granted against Zuma in the Pietermaritzburg high court. She said Zuma’s Nkandla homestead could not be attached because it was on land owned by the Ingonyama Trust.
If Zuma paid what he was owed “then his name will be removed from the credit bureau”, said Brugman.
While the initial outstanding amount was R6.5m, Brugman said he now owed R7.8m, which included interest.
Our next steps are to understand what movable assets can be attached to repay this debt. Since the Nkandla homestead was built on community land, we are unable to attach any immovable property to repay this debt.
— Anoosh Rooplal, VBS Mutual Bank curator
Rooplal said: “As the liquidator, our role requires us to pursue and collect all outstanding monies owed to VBS. These include all clients who have defaulted on paying back their loans and mortgages due to VBS. These recoveries are for the benefit of the creditors of the bank.
“Where repeated attempts to secure payments from clients result in no monies being received, we have no choice but to pursue the legal route to recover the money owed to the bank,” Rooplal added.
“Our next steps are to understand what movable assets can be attached to repay this debt. Since the Nkandla homestead was built on community land, we are unable to attach any immovable property to repay this debt.”
While initially there were reports that Zuma was opposing the application, a default judgment can only be granted in the absence of any meaningful opposition.
Zuma took out the loan in September 2016 to pay the SA Reserve Bank for some of the “security upgrades” done at his Nkandla homestead, including a swimming pool and an amphitheatre which cost about R250m of public money.
Earlier that year, the Constitutional Court confirmed a report from former public protector Thuli Madonsela that he should be held liable for some of what was spent.
While Zuma made some payments towards the loan — the instalments were R70,000 a month — he fell into arrears in August 2018.
Rooplal sent several demands for payment then launched proceedings in the Pietermaritzburg high court.
VBS was placed under curatorship by the Reserve Bank in March 2018. Subsequent investigations revealed its executives had fleeced the bank of about R1.8bn.
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