Zuma case: SA's most expensive?
2009-01-27 09:05
Bloemfontein - Before ANC president Jacob Zuma has even stepped into the dock and is asked to plead, his trial is turning into what may become the most expensive criminal case yet in South Africa.
Apart from the R10.7m that taxpayers have paid for his legal fees, the State's cost in setting up the prosecution has yet to be determined. A legal source in the Free State has said the amount could be as much as Zuma's legal fees.
The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust believes the total cost of the Zuma prosecution could be around R100m.
The trust has threatened court action over the legal fees. They believe the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is wasting money through "bungling, weakening tactics and by appointing three senior private advocates" in what they call a "political trial".
Zuma will appear in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on February 4 to hear the court date when he will probably appear to face charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Top advocates
An independent legal consultant said the appeal record of one of Zuma's cases in the Supreme Court of Appeal ran to 15 000 pages. It cost more than R300 000 just to make copies for all the relevant parties.
The NPA used one of the top five advocates in the country, Advocate Wim Trengove SC, at a cost of no less than R30 000 per day.
Advocate Kemp J Kemp SC, who has been representing Zuma, asks around R25 000 a day. His junior's fees are just over 60% of that fee.
The legal fees consultant said Trengove and Kemp's fees for consultation and preparations - at about R3 000 and R2 500 per hour - were much more than the cost per day in court.
A legal expert said the extent of litigation in the Zuma case was outrageous as he "had a free ride.
"If he had to pay his own fees, he would have been in the dock long ago.
"Now he has a free pass to the taxpayer's pocket. And the taxpayer pays double: for Zuma and the prosecuting authority."