Nkandla homestead

Nkandla (Homestead)
Nkandla
General information
Architectural style	Rondavel architecture
Location	Nxamalala Farm
Town or city	Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal
Country	South Africa
Coordinates	28°50′38″S 31°05′58″E / 28.843968°S 31.099414°E / -28.843968; 31.099414
Construction started	29 August 2009 (2009-08-29)
Cost	ZAR R 246 631 303
Technical details
Size	3.83 hectares
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Minenhle Makhanya at Minenhle Makhanya Architects
Main contractor	CA du Toit (Security consultant)[1] Ibhongo Consulting[1] (Structural and Civil engineering) Igoda Projects (Pty) Ltd[1] (Electrical engineering) R&G Consultants[1] (Quantity surveying) Minenhle Makhaya Architects[1] (Architect and principal agent) Mustapha & Cachalia CC[1] (Mechanical engineering) Ramcon[1] (Project management)

The private residence of former South African President Jacob Zuma is situated about 24 km (15 mi) south of the rural town of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal and is commonly referred to as the Nkandla homestead. During Zuma's presidency, the homestead was the subject of a major public controversy, sometimes referred to as Nkandlagate, concerning what were ostensibly security upgrades to Zuma's compound, at a cost of over R246 million.^[2] The use of public funds to make these improvements (including a controversial firepool) received significant media coverage and political opposition.

A report of the Public Protector found that Zuma unduly benefited from these improvements and the Constitutional Court subsequently found that Zuma's non-compliance with the report constituted a violation of the country's Constitution. Zuma ultimately apologised for using public money to improve his private residence and in April 2016 he was asked to resign by prominent public figures, including anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada, due to the scandal.^[3] In line with the Constitutional Court's judgement, Zuma repaid the state for the non-security upgrades – priced at R7.81 million by the National Treasury – in September 2016.