On Friday, the Constitutional Court dismissed with costs Zuma’s last attempt to overturn a ruling by the Durban High Court that he had defamed Hanekom and had to delete the remark and apologise, and pay Hanekom R500,000 in damages.

Hanekom had been one of the most senior members of the ANC to argue that the ANC should remove Zuma from the presidency when he became increasingly embroiled in the state capture scandal.

Hanekom approached the Durban High Court in 2019 saying Zuma's tweet had caused him great harm because it suggested that he was a spy for the apartheid regime. Judge Dhaya Pillay ruled in September that Zuma's tweet was  “untrue, defamatory and unlawful”.

She ordered that Zuma delete the offending tweet and issue an apology to Hanekom on Twitter within 24 hours. She also interdicted Zuma from ever again suggesting that Hanekom had spied for the white minority government.

Zuma and his lawyers argued that the tweet had been taken out of context and that it was common cause that Hanekom had colluded with opposition parties to seek his removal from office.

His attempt to appeal the Durban High Court ruling was dismissed and Zuma took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). In May the SCA also dismissed his petition for leave to appeal the high court ruling against him, saying that an appeal had no reasonable prospect of success. He then approached the Constitutional Court.

In a brief statement on his official Twitter account on Sunday, Zuma said in Zulu that he had been ordered to make the following statement and was doing so:

"On 25 July 2019 I published a tweet which alleges that Derek Hanekom is a known enemy agent. I unconditionally withdraw this allegation and apologise for making it as it is false." 

Reverting back to Zulu, Zuma concluded that he hoped he was saying it according to Hanekom's wishes and the court order.

According to media reports, Hanekom wants Zuma to also pay the R500,000 in damages.

African News Agency