The statement follows a City Press report on Sunday, according to which there is no bond on President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead, as the president had claimed in Parliament last week.

Commented spokesperson Mac Maharaj: “We reaffirm that President Zuma does indeed have a bond on the residence with one of the national banks and he is still paying it off monthly.

“We urge the media to respect the agencies that are investigating the various aspects of the security enhancements at the residence as speculations and rumour-mongering will not assist the process.”