South African President Jacob Zuma ©Mujahid Safodien (AFP) |
President Jacob Zuma
flouted the constitution in using public funds to upgrade his private residence
and must repay the money, South Africa's top court ruled Thursday, sparking
calls for his impeachment.
AFP
report continues:
The
Constitutional Court delivered a damning verdict on Zuma's conduct after a
swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre were built at his
rural homestead as so-called "security" measures.
The
president had refused an ombudswoman's orders to repay money spent on the
upgrades, which became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the
ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.
Zuma
"failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law
of the land," Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said in a strongly worded
judgement.
The
unprecedented rebuke came as Zuma fights back against separate allegations that
a wealthy Indian family influenced ministerial appointments in a scandal that
has rocked his government.
Zuma
has also been battered by the country's sharply declining economy.
But
he retains a strong grip on parliament through his dominant leadership of the
ANC, and any impeachment bid looked unlikely to succeed.
South
African Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng delivers his Constitutional Court verdict
in Johannesburg on March 31, 2016 ©Mujahid Safodien (AFP)
|
Public
Protector Thuli Madonsela, the country's ombudswoman, ruled in 2014 that Zuma
had "benefited unduly" from the work on the Nkandla property in
KwaZulu-Natal province, and that he should re-fund some of the money.
The
president reacted by ordering two government investigations that cleared his
name -- including a report by the police minister which concluded that the
swimming pool was a fire-fighting precaution.
Mogoeng
said on Thursday that Zuma "must personally pay the amount determined by
the national treasury."
The
work was valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then $24 million).
"President
Jacob Zuma's action amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, and
constitutes grounds for impeachment," the Democratic Alliance (DA), South
Africa's main opposition party, said.
It
added that it had officially begun the process to impeach Zuma.
- Zuma weakened? -
But
the ANC controls parliament after winning elections in 2014, and Zuma easily
survived a no-confidence vote earlier this month.
A
successful vote to impeach Zuma would require a two-thirds majority in the
assembly.
The
DA brought the case to court along with the far left Economic Freedom Fighters
(EFF) party.
"We
call on the president to step down with immediate effect," EFF leader
Julius Malema said. "We would call upon the ANC to do the right thing and
recall the president."
Opposition
parties hope Thursday's ruling will bring gains in local elections this year as
frustration grows over 25 percent unemployment and grinding poverty for many
black people more than 20 years after the end of apartheid.
Zuma
has recently endured renewed corruption allegations after deputy finance
minister Mcebisi Jonas said he was offered the top job in the treasury by the
Guptas, an Indian business family said to hold huge sway over the president.
The
president has faced growing criticism since he sacked two finance ministers
within days, triggering a collapse in the rand and a major withdrawal of
foreign investors.
"He
enjoys less power inside the ANC than he did before firing the finance
ministers in December," Aubrey Matshiqi, analyst at the Helen Suzman
Foundation, told AFP.
"But
the erosion in power he has suffered is not sufficient and does not constitute
a direct threat yet to his position."
Zuma,
73, will have completed two terms in 2019 and is not eligible to run for
president again.
But
the ANC, which led the fight against white-minority rule and has ruled since
Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, could replace him ahead of the vote.
Both
Zuma and the ANC issued brief statements saying they respected the court's
decision and would study its findings.
"The Constitutional
Court has restored hope in the constitutional dream for a man on the street to
hold the government accountable," Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said
after the ruling.
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