First National Bank (FNB) announced on Wednesday that a court has halted payments from former president Jacob Zuma’s accounts due to a disagreement over loans that he used for modifications to his private residence while he was in office.
The 81-year-old politician’s debt to another bank led to legal action, according to FNB, which is why the measure was implemented.
The High Court directed FNB to stop disbursing money from former President Zuma’s FNB accounts. Since incoming payments are unaffected, the accounts are not closed, FNB informed AFP.
“FNB was legally obligated to comply with this court order, which stems from the procedure that is presently being overseen by the VBS Bank liquidators. The courts and VBS liquidators are now the former president Zuma’s avenue of recourse.”
The action is probably going to further damage Zuma’s reputation in the run-up to the May 29 general elections.
Jacob Zuma – South Africa’s President From 2009 to 2018
After serving as president from 2009 to 2018, Zuma is now leading a tiny, newly formed party that poses a threat to the African National Congress (ANC), his former organization, by stealing important votes.
The decade-long, contentious refurbishment of Zuma’s expansive estate in KwaZulu-Natal, his home province, is the reason for the partial account freezing.
A high court determined in 2016 that the former president had violated the constitution when he used public monies totaling millions of dollars to renovate his rural Nkandla residence under the pretext of “security upgrades.”
Among the amenities were an amphitheater, a cattle enclosure, a chicken coop, and a swimming pool that was supposedly used as a firefighting facility. It was also called the “fire pool.”
After being told to repay the funds, Zuma borrowed R7.8 million from VBS.
After the bank was placed under curatorship, its liquidators filed a lawsuit to compel Zuma to repay the remaining portion of the debt.
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