IN PICS | Peek inside Zuma’s Nkandla office: what the sheriff may find

Statues and paintings of Jacob Zuma, cowhide armchairs and a throne for the former president.

That’s among the movable assets the sheriff will find in just one room of former president Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead.

The assets are to be attached, thanks to a warrant of execution obtained by VBS Mutual Bank.

The bank obtained summary judgment in the Pietermaritzburg high court on Tuesday against Zuma to recover R6.5m (said to be R7.8m when interest is added) he owes to the bank after he stopped paying his monthly instalments on his home loan.

Zuma borrowed the money to comply with a ruling by then public protector Thuli Madonsela, which was confirmed by the Constitutional Court, that he pay back into state coffers for some “security upgrades” done at his Nkandla homestead, including a swimming pool and an amphitheatre — which cost about R250m of public money.

VBS Mutual Bank was placed in liquidation by the Reserve Bank in March 2018 and is now under the curatorship of Anoosh Rooplal.

Rooplal’s spokesperson Louise Brugman told TimesLIVE Premium that as soon as the court order is typed and signed, the warrant of execution for the attachment of movable assets will be applied for because in terms of the order payment is immediately due.

Brugman confirmed the order applies to any of Zuma’s movable assets, not just those at Nkandla. 

The next step is for the warrant to be delivered to the relevant sheriff who will have to go to  Zuma’s house and demand payment. If not forthcoming, he will make an inventory and “attach” assets.

If the sheriff deems it necessary, he may ask for police assistance. The  homestead is guarded by police. 

During a visit to Zuma’s office at his sprawling homestead — the venue he usually uses to host guests who drop in for tea — bodyguards flank a bank of glass doors.

The doors open to a reception area in which three life-size statues of Zuma — in traditional Zulu dress, in a suit and in a “freedom” pose — on a red carpet cordoned off by stanchions greet you.

On the opposite side, an ornately carved Eastern-inspired chest of drawers with gold filigree work holds a bust, presumably bronze, of Zuma while a life-size bronze statue of Zuma, hand on heart, stands to the left.

A dark brown leather lounge suite is where guests are seated while waiting for Zuma. Behind this is an office with stained glass windows on the doors and a mirror dressing- table housing a printer and fax machine.

This leads to a second seating area, where there is a long table — under which a glass chess set sits — several fabric armchairs, cowhide wingback armchairs, a dark brown leather sofa and a throne made of dark and light stained wood and red leather, on which Zuma sits.

Behind the throne is a gilt-edged framed painting of Zuma dressed formally in a suit with the SA flag in the background. There is a dark cream flokati rug on the floor.

To the right of the frame is a ceiling-height dark wooden unit housing a television and entertainment system. Damask-like wallpaper covers the walls on one side of the room. The ceiling has a thatched roof with multiple beams dotted around the room.

The lounge leads to a staircase to the first floor, which is out of bounds to guests.

Zuma hosted a delegation of ANC leaders in Nkandla at the weekend. ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma visited Zuma to seek “guidance and wisdom”. The visit came a month after Duma was elected at the ANC provincial conference.