The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Saturday reiterated that president Jacob Zuma never used taxpayers' money to build his private home.

"We still maintain that the president never stole any money," ANC national spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said.

Mthembu was speaking after the ANC was granted leave by the High Court in Johannesburg to appeal a ruling regarding an SMS sent out by the DA accusing Zuma of stealing tax payers' money when government made security upgrades to his private homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province.

On March 19, Public Protector Thuli Mandonsela released a report on an investigation into allegations of impropriety and unethical conduct relating to security upgrades of Zuma's Nkandla home.

The Nkandla project allegedly cost 246 million rand (about 23 million US dollars) in tax payers' money.

After Madonsela released the report, the DA sent to prospective voters a text message which reads: "The Nkandla report shows how Zuma stole your money to build his R246m home. Vote DA on 7 May to beat corruption. Together for change."

The ANC filed a lawsuit, demanding that the DA retract and apologize for the message.

But last week, acting Judge Mike Hellens ruled against the ANC's application to stop the opposition party from sending the SMS, saying evidence showed Zuma did benefit from money spent by government.