There is no trace of a home loan in the name of President Jacob Zuma to repay his Nkandla debt of R7.8m, Netwerk24 reported on Sunday.

VBS Mutual Bank claims to have lent Zuma the money, but no such a bond has been registered in the deeds office in Zuma’s name. Legislation demands that a home loan must be registered at the deeds office.

VBS’ standard requirements for a home loan as stipulated on its website state that it can be granted for a property where there is a title deed or an allocation deed. That is how VBS can grant home loans in the former homelands where land is in communal possession – like the land on which Nkandla is situated.

Andrew Bembridge, an expert on property law at ENS, confirmed that a home loan can only be granted if there is a bond against a deed – whether a title deed or an allocation deed – registered at the deeds office.

The Ingonyama Trust announced a plan to circumvent the problem and provide access to finance. Fikisiwe Madlopha, head of the trust, said in an email that questions about Zuma’s loan cannot be answered because it is a matter between Zuma and the board.

In the past Zuma said he has a home loan for Nkandla. FNB later said a bond for Zuma would have been impossible since he does not have a title deed for Nkandla. Court documents later showed that it was actually his friend Vivian Reddy who “organised” an FNB loan rather than a loan in Zuma’s name.