South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma has been ordered to personally pay for costs related to his fraud, and corruption case. The High Court in Pretoria handed down judgment on the application by opposition parties to set aside an earlier agreement authorizing state funding for Zuma's defense in criminal cases. CGTN's Yolisa Njamela has more.

It's a serious blow for former President Jacob Zuma. Zuma will now have to pay up millions of rands. The judge instructed that the state attorney must now compile a full and complete accounting of legal costs incurred by Zuma in his personal capacity. To also take all necessary steps, including the institution of civil proceedings, to cover the amounts paid for by the state for Zuma's legal costs.

YOLISA NJAMELA PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA "The state attorney was also ordered by the court to file a report within three months, detailing the steps taken, and those that will be taken, to recover the amounts paid by the State thus far for the former president's court case."

The verdict has essentially overturned a 2006 agreement Zuma signed with former president Thabo Mbeki. That agreement stated that government would pay Zuma's legal costs in his corruption, fraud and money laundering cases. Political analyst Gideon Chitanga says this is a precedent setting case.

GIDEON CHITANGA POLITICAL ANALYST "The outcome sets a good precedence. If you look at South Africa currently, the country is losing a lot of money to corruption. There are serious cases of alleged corruption at various high levels of the state and even within the private sector so I think the idea that a message is a clear explicit message is sent to those in power to say that, if you abuse public resources, or engage in illicit activities, then you are personally liable, might be such a good deterrent top stop corruption in society."

Zuma's legal representatives had argued that government or public interest is automatically implicated when an official is criminally charged. The court rejected the argument, saying the charges against him had nothing to do with performing his roles in public office.

GIDEON CHITANGA POLITICAL ANALYST "The case has very crucial implications for good governance in the sense of holding former public officials and those who are in office accountable in making sure that they don't abuse office and that if they abuse office, then they will take personal liability and responsibility in terms of dealing with any cases of misuse of power in office."

In September, South Africa's Presidency stated that Zuma's personal legal fees had cost the state R16.78-million. The court also criticised Zuma for appointing and enriching his private attorneys rather than defending cases through the state attorney's office.

GIDEON CHITANGA POLITICAL ANALYST "I don't think he was prepared for this outcome. I'm not sure if he has the money himself available to immediately pay up the legal costs or refund the tax payers or government the money he used to pay his defence team. So he might be on one hand buying time to just get time to mobilize the resources needed to pay up this money. On the other end, he would need to obviously digest this outcome and come to terms with it."

Zuma is likely to appeal this ruling. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Pretoria, South Africa.