Zuma parts ways with law firm representing him in costs case

Erstwhile state president Jacob Zuma has parted ways with the law firm representing him in the case of his legal costs, it surfaced on Sunday.

It is not clear why the firm has withdrawn its services to the former president, but this is the latest legal representative to do so after Mabuza Attorneys also walked the same path last month in Zuma’s fraud and corruption case set for this month in the Pietermaritzburg high court.

The notice comes on the back of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last month having dismisssed Zuma’s bid to overturn a judgment handed down by the North Gauteng High Court back in 2018.

The ruling ordered Zuma to pay an estimated R25 million bill for his criminal case the state had previously paid.

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The SCA said that granting Zuma a blank cheque to pay private lawyers for his personal legal battles was not only shocking but also made possible by a web of maladministration and shrouded in secrecy.

“Until then the matter had been shrouded in secrecy. It was only after the review application had been launched that the full extent of the funding emerged. The SCA took a view that to have granted Zuma, who had been significantly enriched by a blank check to pay private lawyers is egregious,” the judgment reads.

It said the state was not liable for his costs and Zuma must pay back the money.