Publication: Sapa Issued: Johannesburg Date: 2007-03-28 Reporter: Sapa

Taxpayers Pay R8m for Zuma Legal Fees

 

Publication 

Sapa
BC-ZUMA-FEES

Issued

 Johannesburg
Date

2007-03-28

Reporter

Sapa

 

The government has already paid about R8 million in taxpayers' money to cover ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma's legal costs, reported the Sowetan newspaper on Wednesday.

The money was paid to Zuma's lawyer Michael Hulley and other senior counsel acting in the fraud and corruption case against the former SA deputy president.

It's part of the R10.67m set aside in President Thabo Mbeki's budget *1 in October and carried over to this year's budget.

The Sowetan reported that an official in the state attorney's office confirmed that about three-quarters of the total budget was paid to Zuma's lawyers last week.

With acknowledgement to Sapa.


*1       Crime might not pay, but this is a good start.

Can one imagine how much will have been spent by the end of the trial, SCA appeal and CC apeal?

And Zuma is collecting funds from the general public for his legal defence.

One can only hope that this is a loan that will be repaid (at least in theory) if Zuma loses the case.

It is also ironic to compare the total amounts of money spent by Zuma on legal defences with that on the Jacob Zuma Educational Trust - even with that received from Benefactor Shaik (about R4 million) and Benefactor Thomson-CSF (about R1 million). .