Bank Secures R6.5M Judgment Against Zuma For Nkandla Upgrades

It is not yet uhuru for former South African president Jacob Zuma as a bank has taken him to court to recover the loan he got to refurbish his Nkandla residence. Zuma had reportedly entered a loan agreement with VBS in 2016 and defaulted on the loan agreement, forcing VBS to head to court to…

It is not yet uhuru for former South African president Jacob Zuma as a bank has taken him to court to recover the loan, he got to refurbish his Nkandla residence. Zuma had reportedly entered a loan agreement with VBS in 2016 and defaulted on the loan agreement, forcing VBS to head to court to recover the debt. The institution has since gotten a favorable judgment against the former president.

The prelude to this was the upgrade of Zuma’s Nkandla residence years back. The public prosecutor had investigated the upgrades and found that some structures built on the property were not related to security, as Zuma had claimed at the outset.

As a result, a court order was secured to force the president to compensate the state for the fixtures unrelated to security on the property. The ruling forced Zuma to seek a loan from VBS Mutual Bank.


Along the line, he had defaulted on the loan, forcing the bank to institute legal proceedings to recover the sum owed. The former president is not only paying the loan sum but also arrears, which amounts to R6.5 million.