Former President Jacob Zuma’s clan has indicated that it is willing to help him cover his mounting legal bills, IOL reports.
The clan’s leader, Inkosi Simphiwe Zuma, said if Zuma made a request for assistance, they would meet to raise funds.
“If we have something to offer, we can help him. He does indicate that he is facing some financial challenges, and we could meet to help him with what we can afford,” he said.
Zuma’s legal troubles
The former President has a host of court cases underway and has made several court appearances in recent months.
The most immediate one involves his appeal against a recent High Court ruling that dismissed his application for a permanent stay of prosecution in his corruption trial, which dates back to 2005.
Zuma has until 1 November to file the appeal, and the matter will be heard on 22 November.
In December 2018, the High Court in Pretoria ruled that he has to pay back some of the legal costs the state incurred in the long-running trial. His leave to appeal that ruling failed in June this year.
Zuma is also appealing a High Court ruling that ordered him to apologise to former minister Derek Hanekom for calling him “a known enemy agent.”
‘Socks and hats’
Addressing his supporters after a court appearance in May, Zuma said he had to “sell his socks and hats” to fund his legal bills because the state was no longer paying for him.
In April, he tweeted that he owes “millions in legal fees” after Sunday Times claimed the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gave him $30million (around R441 million) for safekeeping in 2011.
He wrote, “Sigh! I owe millions in legal fees… I’ve asked you to assist with that one title deed in order for me to sell that house.
“I now hear that I have been keeping money belonging to my late brother Gaddafi. Where’s this money because His Majesty knows nothing about it?”
In September, News24 reported that VBS Mutual Bank’s liquidators were seeking R7.3 million from Zuma after he allegedly defaulted on a 2016 loan.
Zuma got the loan from VBS after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had to pay back some of the costs for security upgrades at his Nkandla residence.