Its foundation shared a tweet on Tuesday asking the public to “lend a hand” with the ex-leader’s legal fees.
“We humbly ask for support for donations to help cover our employer’s legal fees,” read a pamphlet posted in the tweet along with a bank account where donations could be made.
The appeal has provoked reactions from South Africans, with some of his supporters pledging to contribute, while others criticize him for asking the public.
“Zuma has a pension of 2.5 million, his twins have huge security contingents and are driven in convoys, others have huge television productions … He has to convene a family reunion to make donations, not Twitter !!!” wrote a user.
The request arrived on the same day as Statistics South Africa released figures according to Bloomberg, unemployment in the country rose to 34.4%, cited as the highest in the world.
Zuma is currently serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court after challenging a subpoena to appear in an investigation into corruption during his tenure.
He continually denies the charges against him and has compared his treatment to the non-trial detention of the apartheid era.
Earlier this month he was admitted to an outside hospital where he underwent surgery for an undisclosed illness, according to prison authorities. He is still receiving hospital care and his corruption trial has been postponed to 9 September.
Zuma’s arrest in July sparked looting across the country and some of the worst violence the country has experienced in years, leaving about 70 people dead.
He was president of South Africa between 2009 and 2018, when he was ousted after numerous high-level corruption scandals that include allowing businessmen Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta to plunder state resources and influence government policy. The Guptas deny the fouls but left South Africa after Zuma was ousted from the presidency.