South African opposition leader Hellen Zille was prevented Sunday from visiting President Jacob Zuma’s private rural residence, at the centre of a row over a $29-million state-funded upgrade.
Police cited safety reasons for denying Zille and her six-member delegation passage to Zuma’s homestead, where they wanted to inspect how public money was used to fund the president’s private property.
Supporters of the ruling African National Congress formed a barricade near the home, which is a cluster of modern thatched-roof Zulu huts.
The opposition Democratic Alliance had raised alarm over the public funding of the development, and said their visit was for oversight purposes.
Police had to prevent a group of some 500 ANC supporters from charging towards Zille’s delegation, while others laid on the road to prevent them from driving through.
Zille took to Twitter to vent her anger and post pictures of the property, located in KwaNxamalala village, north of the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
“The police line blocking us from proceeding after they let ANC buses through,” read one of her tweets, accompanied by a picture.
“A small ANC group of protestors moves closer brandishing branches and traditional weapons,” said another.
She later tweeted that she was at a police station to file a complaint, without specifying the nature of the charge.
Zuma’s office had called the visit “mischievous” and said that “the DA’s conduct smacks of a disingenuous publicity gimmick”.
The ruling ANC also slammed the visit as a violation of Zuma’s privacy, saying the DA should have raised their grievances with his office.
The development on Zuma’s compound, which stands among nondescript mud houses in the impoverished village, has stirred a political storm, with several opposition parties questioning the legality of spending state funds on the president’s private property.
According to media reports, the upgrades include underground bunkers, a helipad, a clinic and a tarred road leading to the village.
“We felt it was important for us to see the compound for ourselves before we embark on court action against the president for this blatant abuse of power,” the DA said in a statement.
“This is state-sponsored corruption on an unprecedented scale.”
Police in riot gear patrolled the area with a helicopter hovering above the vast village where Zuma was born.
The ANC supporters, clad in yellow ANC shirts emblazoned with Zuma’s face, chanted pro-Zuma slogans and held placards reading: “Zuma president of the people”, “Zuma has right to privacy” and “Where was DA during apartheid”.
They stood some 500 metres (yards) away from the property.
In a statement, an ANC-aligned trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, warned the DA “not to push their luck too far” by travelling to the village.
Zuma mostly spends his time at his official residences in the capital Pretoria and legislative seat Cape Town. He also occasionally uses another official residence in the eastern port city of Durban.
S.Africa opposition turned away at Zuma's $29 mn home
