South African President Jacob Zuma flanked by his wife Gloria Bongekile Ngema Zuma stands for the National Anthem
South African President, Jacob Zuma has come under fire after it
was revealed £370,000 (N108m) of state funding was splashed on 11 cars
for his four wives.
The father of 22 children is understood to have used state funds to
buy his wives luxury cars, which included two Land Rover Discoveries,
two Audi Q7s, three Audi A6s and four Range Rovers.
The shocking findings were revealed by a parliamentary question to
the police ministry just as Zuma appeals against a court ruling that
corruption charges against him should be reinstated.
Last month Mr Zuma was ordered to pay back some of the £15million
of public cash he used to spend on adding a swimming pool and visitor's
centre to his country home.
He was criticised over the building work at his Nkandla home,
situated in his native province of KwaZulu-Natal, but insisted it was
required as new security measures.
The luxury features were defended by Zuma, who said the swimming
pool was necessary to fight fires and the amphitheater prevented soil
erosion.
Zuma, who has been subject to more than 700 fraud investigations
during his political career, began work on his sprawling family home
three years ago.
The property, which is surrounded by two perimeter fences, already
includes helipads, underground rooms and multiple properties for the
polygamist's huge family.
In a televised address to the nation in March, Mr Zuma apologised
and said he would pay back some of the money spent on the property, as
ordered.
'I wish to emphasise that I never knowingly or deliberately set out to violate the constitution,' Zuma said.
'Any action that has been found not to be in keeping with the
constitution happened because of a different approach and different
legal advice,' he said, before issuing an apology for the 'frustration
and confusion' caused by the scandal.
However opposition parties have continued to call for the President to step down following the corruption scandals.
'The president is misleading South Africa. He said repeatedly he always wanted to pay. He never wanted to pay,' Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said.
The President's spending was also questioned earlier this month
when it emerged a second luxury jet was requested for Mr Zuma by his
defence minister.
Zuma's current jet is understood to be in good condition with low mileage, raising questions as to why it needed replacing.
President Jacob Zuma is appealing against a court ruling that
corruption charges against him should be reinstated, his office said.
'The President believes that the decision of the Court affects
him directly and is of a strong view that the Court erred in several
respects in its decision,' it said in a statement released late on Monday.
The Pretoria High Court last month ordered a review of a 2009
decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to set aside hundreds of
charges against Zuma, terming it 'irrational'.
Zuma's office said the court made a mistake in saying the National
Director of Public Prosecutions was not entitled to terminate a
prosecution on the basis of misconduct and abuse of the process.
'President Zuma believes that the appeal raises important issues of
law and fact and also believes that the appeal has reasonable prospects
of success,' the Presidency said.
The National Prosecuting Authority said earlier on Monday it would
also appeal the Pretoria court ruling, which could have lead to 783
corruption charges being reinstated against Zuma.
The charges, relating to a multi-billion dollar arms deal, were
dropped in 2009, clearing the way for Zuma to be elected president just
weeks later.
At the time, state prosecutors justified dropping the case by
saying that tapped phone calls between officials in then-president Thabo
Mbeki's administration showed undue interference.
But the Pretoria High Court last month dismissed the decision to
discontinue the charges as 'irrational' and said it should be reviewed
by the NPA.
'The judgement affects... the discretionary powers of the
prosecutor,' Abrahams told a press conference on Monday. 'It is so
important that I believe it needs a decision of an appeal court.'
Source: MailOnline
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