President Jacob Zuma on the last day of the ANC National Conference on December 20, 2012 in Mangaung, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images / The Times / Daniel Born)
Former president Jacob Zuma has demanded a title deed to a house the Sunday Times newspaper once reported he had in Dubai.
The Sunday Times, on Sunday, tabled a report that said the former president sent a begging bowl to the presidency for assistance on his legal fees.
This after the high court ruled that Zuma would be liable for legal costs incurred in his defence against corruption charges.
Zuma quickly reminded the publication of a June 4, 2017 report which alleged he owned property in Dubai and had Robert Mugabe as a neighbour.
The report alleged the Dubai mansion was a gift from the Gupta brothers.
The report elaborated on the home with 10 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, nine reception rooms and space for 11 cars.
It also stated that the home, estimated to have a value of R330 million, was Zuma’s retirement home in the suburb of Emirates Hills. This was the same year Duduzane Zuma bought an apartment for R18 million in the Burj Khalifa skyscraper.
Zuma, who only joined social media a few days ago, reminded the paper that they had been off the mark about him before.
He said the paper was correct in their report today that he sold one of his properties, though, as he had a lot of legal fees to pay.
He, however, sarcastically requested the title deed and address of the house he is reported to own in Dubai, so that he could also sell it for his legal fees.
The presidency, after the initial story circulated, said the report was fabricated.
“The story in the Sunday Times newspaper today, 4 June 2017, that President Jacob Zuma owns a ‘palace’ in Dubai is a fabrication,” Zuma’s then spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said in a statement.
Zuma did not own any property outside of South Africa and had not “requested anybody to buy property for him abroad”. Zuma had also not received or seen the reported emails and had no knowledge of them, Ngqulunga said.
This caught the eye of EFF leader Julius Malema who was quick to jump on the bandwagon and retweeted the tweet.
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