South Africans’ hope in the Constitution was restored by the Constitutional Court ruling on the highly controversial Nkandla saga, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said in Thursday.
“Today is the day the Constitutional Court restored hope in the constitutional dream for every Gogo Dlamini out there who needs to rely on the Public Protector to hold government accountable for improper conduct,” Madonsela told reporters at her office in Pretoria.
“Today is a historical day for all the people of South Africa and for this constitutional institution. It is historic because our Constitutional Court, the ultimate guardians of our Constitution, has confirmed the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in this country.”
She said the ruling by the highest court in South Africa, ordering President Jacob Zuma to respect the Public Protector’s directive to reimburse the state for improvements to his private home, had proven that the law applies to everyone, despite their office or status.
In a unanimous judgment written by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, the court found that both Zuma and the National Assembly had failed to uphold the Constitution by not respecting the binding force of a report by Madonsela on security upgrades to his home. She found that Zuma had derived undue benefit from the R216 million project and should reimburse the state for luxuries, including a swimming pool, added to his home.
The court held that National Treasury should within 60 days determine the amount Zuma owed and gave him 45 days thereafter to pay it.
– African News Agency (ANA)
