New calls for Zuma to resign after court rules against him
Print Edition
SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma yesterday faced a chorus of calls to step down after a court ruled that he breached the constitution in a judgement that engulfed him in a fresh bout of controversy.
Zuma retains widespread loyalty within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) whose lawmakers dominate parliament, but his tarnished image has shaken the party ahead of local elections.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, hailed a damning verdict by the country’s top court on Thursday that Zuma had violated the constitution by refusing to repay public funds spent on his private home.
“This judgement is an immense victory for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the people of South Africa,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane told reporters yesterday.
“It simply cannot be business as usual when President Zuma has been found to have violated the constitution.”
The party has launched impeachment proceedings against the head of state but the move is likely to fail as it would require the support of a two-thirds majority in parliament.
But the attempt will keep Zuma’s misdeeds in the public eye ahead of municipal elections later this year when the ANC risks losing control of Gauteng province, which includes the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The storm of press criticism focused on Zuma’s refusal to comply with an ombudswoman’s order to repay money spent on a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheater at his rural homestead.
“There is only one way South Africa can escape a full-blown constitutional crisis ... and that would be his resignation or dismissal,” said the Sowetan newspaper. “He has no legal or moral authority to govern.”
The upgrades, which were valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then US$24 million), became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the ANC, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 after the end of apartheid.
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