This is the house the EFF built... and then fixed

8 February 2016

Durban – The wonky house the Economic Freedom Fighters built for a neighbour of President Jacob Zuma in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, has finally been repaired.

"I am happy they fixed the house, but I do not know how long it will last," Sthandiwe Hlongwane said.

Soon after EFF leader Julius Malema handed it over to her in January 2014, as part of the party's general election campaign in the ANC-controlled area, the roof caved in, the walls and the tiles cracked, and it had no running water.

Hlongwane said Malema told his supporters to tear it down and rebuild it, but they decided to fix it. "I am just tired of talking about the house. I never want to talk about the house ever again, case closed."

The EFF sent someone to plaster the inside and the outside of the house, level the veranda, put in new ceiling boards and an outside sink. She said they told her the roof had collapsed because the wood was wet when they put the tiles on it.

"The house is nice now." 

The president’s sprawling homestead, a stone's throw from Hlongwane's humble house, is in the spotlight again after Zuma offered to repay some of the R246m spent on upgrades not related to security – his amphitheatre, visitors' centre, swimming pool, cattle kraal and chicken run.

Last Tuesday, he asked the Constitutional Court to hand down an order that the auditor-general and finance minister determine how much he should repay. 

On Thursday, the EFF rejected his offer and demanded that the matter be heard in court for it to enforce the recommendations Public Protector Thuli Madonsela made in her report on Nkandla.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.