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South Africa

Nkandla payback update: Zuma Foundation to ‘consult legal team’ on order to cough up R6.5m

In a summary judgment – which means the former president chose not to participate – the High Court in Pietermaritzburg gave VBS Mutual Bank the green light to demand R6.5-million, plus interest and the cost of the application, to settle debts for the non-security upgrades at Nkandla.
Nkandla payback update: Zuma Foundation to ‘consult legal team’ on order to cough up R6.5m
Pauli van Wyk
By Pauli van Wyk
31 Aug 2022
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The JG Zuma Foundation reacted to the order saying it “will study the judgment and consult the legal team”. 




Usually summary judgments are appealable. Zuma cannot appeal this because he consented to the summary judgement. Payment is immediate and, therefore, the curator can attach when they are ready. Judgment cannot be appealed. 

If Zuma wishes to take this further, his legal team will have to apply for a rescission of the judgment, which is rarely granted.

VBS curator Anoosh Rooplal’s spokesperson, Louise Brugman, made the draft court order available. Daily Maverick has since received the signed and stamped version.

Zuma is, according to the draft order, liable to pay R6.5-million in debt to VBS Mutual Bank, as well as interest at a rate of 10.25% per year, calculated from 31 August 2019.

He is also ordered to pay the costs of the application on an attorney and client scale. 

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-08-30-nkandla-upgrades-court-says-vbs-can-seize-assets/

Rooplal said his “next steps are to understand what movable assets can be attached in order to repay his debt. Since the Nkandla homestead was built on community land, we are unable to attach any immovable property in order to repay his debt.”

The draft court order shows that Rooplal abandoned arguments in favour of the land on which Nkandla stands to be executable. 




Nkandla is built on Farm Nxamalala, which is owned by the Ingonyama Trust and cannot be seized.

Rooplal said: “As the liquidator, our role requires us to pursue and collect all outstanding monies owed to VBS. These include all clients who have been defaulting on paying back their loans and mortgages due to VBS. These recoveries are for the benefit of the creditors of the bank. Where repeated attempts to secure payments from clients result in no monies being received, we have no choice but to pursue the legal route in order to recover the money owed to the bank.” DM

Comments (9)

Yagyanand Maharaj Sep 1, 2022, 01:43 PM

Surely in an application for a bond on a property that cannot be attached some form of surety, possibly a person to guarantee payment was supplied. Hope that angle is pursued as well and that the bond appliaction form is made public..

Hilary Morris Sep 1, 2022, 11:32 AM

Good luck trying to extract money from Zuma

Malcolm McManus Sep 1, 2022, 10:01 AM

They should attach everything including his clothes. Leave him only with a traditional loin cloth and some leather bracelets. Nothing colonial.

ALAN PATERSON Sep 1, 2022, 08:14 AM

Of course this will be fought all the way to the Constitutional Court, And beyond. Meanwhile JZ will be entering the Guinness Book of Records for the longest ever survivor of a terminal disease,

Johan Buys Aug 31, 2022, 08:16 PM

Which part of default judgement does the former prisoner’s legal team not understand?

Oblivious Traveler Aug 31, 2022, 07:30 PM

Interesting that a defaulter can hide behind a trust. Maybe the Ingonyama Trust should be held accountable for providing protection to a devious defaulter who used his "property" as collatoral for a bond. Surely they should have given permission. If they did not, then at least they can order the destruction of the buildings built on the land or reposses it to sell it to the highest bidder in order to clear their name and repay the debt. Surely there should be some legal occupancy directives. If not, the trust is just one elaborate scheme to disenfranchise the poor and reward the wealthy and powerful. Personally I think this should be tested in a court of law even in the Constitutional Court if the lower courts are also captured by you know who!

Johan Buys Sep 1, 2022, 05:21 PM

Johannes : that trust is whole other stinker. The Zulu king, an unelected unaccountable traditional leader, owns land bigger than Kruger National Park. Millions live on that land but have zero title and zero ownership of improvements. When we tally land ownership and race, none of those multi generational people are counted in - and I doubt the millions of hectares in the trust are not tallied as black land either. When one of the kings subjects needs finance to buy farming equipment or materials : no collateral in what is actually his/her land. It is a feudal system.

Richard Fitzpatrick Aug 31, 2022, 06:30 PM

VBS did him no favors with the interest rate, did they? 10.25%? Even they thought he was dodgy. Still, at the end of the day his personal belongings will be pretty worthless so no one will make anything out of that and he screws his own people who invested in VBS, twice actually, as he already screwed them the first time around when he robbed the whole country. What a mensch!

Ian Gwilt Aug 31, 2022, 02:54 PM

If I did not pay my bond for a couple of years and the bank got a judgement against me, what on earth could be my defence ?

Karl Sittlinger Aug 31, 2022, 02:01 PM

"Nkandla is built on Farm Nxamalala, which is owned by the Ingonyama Trust and cannot be seized." In light of the ANCs push for destroying the property rights in South Africa, this would be funny if it wouldn't be so sad. Every day my disgust for Zuma and his 40 thieves grows.