JZ Foundation clears the air on donations as Zuma struggles to cover legal fees

Supporters of former president Jacob Zuma have been assured that the money they are donating towards his legal fees are not received by the JZ Foundation but by the president directly.

It also said that Zuma gave it permission to reach out to the public for financial assistance. 

“The Capitec bank account is legitimate and belongs to H.E President Zuma. It is not the account of the foundation.

“The foundation is merely providing a service to its jailed patron. This fundraising project has [the] full endorsement of President Zuma,” the foundation said on its official Twitter account.

Zuma's spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi told eNCA on Monday that while the former president still gets his monthly salary, he is unable to afford his legal fees.

“Nobody can be ready to pay for tons of lawyers' fees. When we deal with the kinds of cases that his excellency president Zuma is dealing with, you need seasoned senior councils and they don't come cheap, because the work requires a lot of research,” he said. 

Last week, Manyi told TimesLIVE the former president needed “millions” to cover his legal fees.

Asked if Zuma's children would contribute to his legal costs, he said the foundation was asking anyone who had the means to help, to do so.

Zuma was recently admitted to a hospital outside the Estcourt Correctional Centre, where he is serving a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of a Constitutional Court ruling.

He was sentenced by the apex court in June for refusing to appear and give testimony at the recently concluded state capture inquiry.