Zuma’s supporters demonstrate in Johannesburg in May. ANC backers gathered 500 metres from his home on Sunday/AFP
The development on Zuma’s compound, which stands among nondescript mud houses in the impoverished village, has stirred up 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”.
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.
The supporters who arrived in several buses later dispersed after Zille’s departure.
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.
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