Ramaphosa defends payment of Zuma's legal fees

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In a statement Thursday, the President appeared to endorse a decision by the State Attorney that the government continues to pay the legal fees following Mr Zuma's request.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended a deal struck with his predecessor over payment of legal fees of the scandal-hit Jacob Zuma.

In a statement Thursday, the President appeared to endorse a decision by the State Attorney that the government continues to pay the legal fees following Mr Zuma's request.

 

“I was informed that the State Attorney, at the time of considering the request made by President Zuma for legal representation at State expense, considered section 3(3) of the State Attorney Act, 1957 (as amended) to give her discretion where the State was not party to a matter but interested or concerned in it, or it was in the public interest to provide such representation to a government official,” said President Ramaphosa.

 

The President said the agreement also required that Mr Zuma pays back the money if the court found him to have acted in his personal capacity rather than as a government official or head of state.

 

"The acts on the basis of which it is alleged that the former President committed criminal offences took place during his tenure as a government official both at provincial and later at national level," MrRamaphosa said.

 

Last week the state prosecutor announced that the office will reinstate 16 charges of fraud, money laundering and racketeering against Mr Zuma. The charges relate to 783 counts of corruption in a multibillion-rand government arms deal in the 1990s.

 

The opposition parties have questioned the $1.2 million already spent paying Mr Zuma’s legal fees. They are also opposed to the decision to continue footing Mr Zuma’s legal bill.

 

Mr Zuma was ousted by his party, ruling African National Congress (ANC), in February.