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MK Party President Jacob Zuma during a media briefing to announce Tony Yengeni as the party’s second deputy president on 23 October 2025.
Former President Jacob Zuma says he was outside the country when the Pretoria High Court handed down its ruling that he must repay close to R29 million in legal fees to the state within 60 days.
The MK Party leader says he needs to consult his lawyers before commenting on the court order. He was speaking at a media briefing in Durban, where the MK Party announced that former ANC Chief Whip in parliament, Tony Yengeni, had been appointed second deputy president of the party.
The order comes after a 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal that Zuma was not entitled to the state funding his defence in his arms deal corruption case.
The Pretoria High Court ordered that the state attorney may attach Zuma’s pension and assets if the money is not paid back in time.
Zuma says he and his legal team will make a decision about the court order in due course.
“When the matter was discussed I was not here. I am going to meet with my lawyers to say ‘where do we take the matter?’ So, I can’t be answering because I was not there. That matter will be handled. You will get to know in due time as to what is our approach,” says Zuma.
Meanwhile, Zuma told the media in Durban he is happy that Yengeni has finally joined the MK Party.
MKP President Jacob Zuma announces Tony Yengeni joining the party:
Yengeni served in the ANC NEC until 2022, after holding the office of the party’s chief whip in parliament during the 1999 arms deal.
In a brief address, Yengeni praised Zuma for his leadership in the ANC, and now the MK Party as well.
He has condemned the arms deal prosecutions as politically motivated.
“I was convicted in the so-called car discount case, which was politically motivated and thoroughly shameful in the manner it was handled. They even sent me to prison. Guess who came to visit me when I was in prison? Comrade Jacob Zuma. That solidarity cuts too deep. Later, they went after Zuma himself charging him with the arms deal case,” says Yengeni.
Zuma asked Yengeni to represent him in an ANC disciplinary hearing to expel him after the former president formed the MK Party.
“Even when Msholozi later formed uMkhonto weSizwe, our bond remained. When the ANC took disciplinary action against him, Msholozi called upon me to represent him on the DC. I readily agreed,” says Yengeni.
Yengeni will work in the MK Party’s head office, while Deputy President, Doctor John Hlophe, will concentrate on the party’s parliamentary work.
What does Tony Yengeni bring to the MKP? Prof Dirk Kotze
By Celumusa Zulu
