Zuma seeks leave to appeal R28.9m repayment order

FORMER President Jacob Zuma will turn to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on December 1, in a bid to obtain leave to appeal last month's judgment ordering him to pay back the money incurred during his private litigation over the years - all of them slightly more than R28.9 million.

- ZELDA VENTER

Judge Anthony Millar earlier ordered Zuma to make this payment to the State Attorney, as well as pay interest as calculated at the prescribed rate, which runs into more millions.

But Zuma's legal team indicated shortly after the judgment that they will not leave matters here, as they maintain that he should not face the hefty legal bill, as the State Attorney from the start agreed to foot this bill, until it reconsidered the matter and decided he was not entitled to State funding.

Zuma's counsel, Advocate Thabani Masuku, last month told the high court that it is strange that the Presidency and the State Attorney, who previously defended the funding of Zuma's legal woes vociferously, now turn around and want him to repay the same money.