A South African high court has ruled that former president, Jacob Zuma must pay his own legal bills for his corruption case. The court also asked Zuma to repay the State for illegally using taxpayers’ funds to defend corruption and fraud cases against him. “The state is not liable for the legal costs incurred by Zuma in his personal capacity in criminal prosecutions against him, and in any civil litigation related or any other associated legal costs,” the Pretorian court deputy judge, Aubrey Ledwaba said.
Zuma has been fighting multiple allegations of corruption for more than a decade and has incurred millions of dollars in legal fees. The court’s decision marks the end of a poor year for Zuma, who was forced out of office in February. It is estimated that the state has paid between $1m (£792,000) and $2.2m in legal costs for him. “Like all other accused persons in South Africa is thus entitled to be represented by a legal practitioner using his own resources, or those offered by the Legal Aid Board,” Ledwaba stated.
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