JOHANNESBURG, April 1 (ANA) – The Constitutional Court found against President Jacob Zuma in the Nkandla matter on Thursday, ruling that he breached the Constitution by failing to heed Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on improvements to his private home, and should reimburse the state an amount to be determined by National Treasury.
In a unanimous judgment read out by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, the court instructed treasury to determine an amount to be paid by Zuma within 60 days and gave the president 45 days to then personally pay that amount.
Mogoeng said the Public Protector’s directives were binding and Zuma had failed to uphold the Constitution by respecting and protecting the chapter nine institution. The National Assembly had equally breached the Constitution when it sought to absolve the president from his duty to comply with the remedial action Madonsela ordered in her report on the R216 million Nkandla project.
The Democratic Alliance, one of the two parties that took the matter to the highest court in the land, announced immediately after the ruling that it would launch a process to impeach Zuma in terms of Section 89(1) of the Constitution.
“Today’s ruling is clear in this regard: President Jacob Zuma’s action amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, and constitutes grounds for impeachment,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane said.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, he added: “If I were him I would be drafting a resignation letter.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
