Lobby group AfriForum announced on Tuesday that it is taking steps to have warrants issued against former President and uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) president Jacob Zuma, to seize his assets to cover his legal costs related to the 2023 medical parole case.

The group expressed concerns that almost two years after the Constitutional Court, Pretoria High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal ordered Zuma to cover AfriForum’s legal costs, Zuma still owes the civil rights organisation more than R500 000.

AfriForum claimed that Zuma ignored the May 16 deadline to make payment.

Zuma served less than two months in prison in 2021 after refusing to testify before the Zondo Commission.

He was released on medical parole on August 16, 2021, but the granting of his parole was ruled as unlawful by the Constitutional Court in July 2023.

However, in October 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa granted Zuma a presidential pardon, which meant that his remaining prison sentence was scrapped.

Boshoff pointed out that because Zuma had evaded accountability, it would be unacceptable to allow him to get away without paying these legal costs.

“These steps follow a ruling by the Constitutional Court in 2023 that found that the granting of medical parole to Zuma was unlawful. The same case was previously heard before the Pretoria High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal and in both cases, costs were awarded to AfriForum. Almost two years later, AfriForum only received the legal costs for the case that was heard before the Constitutional Court, but not for the cases in the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal,” said AfriForum spokesperson Louis Boshoff.

He said Zuma’s so-called delay tactics had almost come to an end and that AfriForum would soon either have proof of payment to show or Zuma’s assets would be seized to cover the costs.

“It is crucial that these legal costs are paid, because despite all the findings against him, Zuma has gotten away with minimal time behind bars and is now back at the helm of one of the largest political parties in the country. Whether Zuma is president of the ANC or the MK Party, the message remains the same: No politician is above the law,” said Boshoff.