Zuma faces calls for impeachment after $24m corruption case defeat

President Jacob Zuma is facing calls for impeachment after South Africa’s top court ruled he flouted the constitution in using public funds to upgrade his private residence. The scandal-plagued leader was also ordered to repay some of the millions of dollars he spent on building a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre at his rural homestead. Mr 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. Outside the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, opposition leader Mmusi Maimane said the president should be removed from office and said he would table a parliamentary motion to have him impeached.

We call on the president to step down with immediate effect. We would call upon the ANC to do the right thing and recall the president.

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema

Mr Zuma, 73, has been on the political back foot since he emerged he spent $24 million on the improvements, which he said were “security measures”. He refused an ombudswoman’s orders to repay some of the money spent on the upgrades, which became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the ruling African National Congress party. His latest defeat comes after the case was taken up through the courts by opposition parties. In Thursday’s ruling, chief justice Mogoeng said he “must personally pay the amount determined by the national treasury”. He gave the treasury 60 days in which to determine the amount, after which the president would have a further 45 days to pay.

The president will reflect on the judgment and its implications on the state and government, and will in consultation with other impacted institutions of state determine the appropriate action

South African government statement

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