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| President Jacob Zuma |
South African President Jacob Zuma faces
an impeachment attempt in parliament Tuesday after the country’s top
court ruled that he had violated the constitution over spending on his
private residence.
Zuma will almost certainly survive the
impeachment vote, which requires a two-thirds majority, as his ruling
African National Congress holds an overwhelming number of seats.
Despite rumblings of discontent within
the party over a series of scandals involving the president, there is
unlikely to be a revolt among ANC lawmakers, particularly as it will not
be a secret ballot.
The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled last
Thursday that Zuma had flouted the constitution by failing to repay some
of the money spent on “security upgrades” at his rural home at Nkandla
in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.
The project, which cost taxpayers $24 million, included a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and an amphitheatre.
A 2014 report by the
government-appointed Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, found that Zuma
and his family had “unduly benefited” from the upgrades and ordered him
to pay back some of the money.
Zuma apologised in a national television
address on Friday for the “frustration and confusion” caused by the
affair, but made it clear that he had no intention of responding to
calls to resign. He however said he would pay back some of the money as ordered.
The impeachment motion was lodged by the
main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, which drew unflattering
comparisons between Zuma and iconic former ANC leader and president,
Nelson Mandela.
“Jacob Zuma is the cancer at the heart
of South African politics; he is not capable of honourable conduct, and
cannot continue to be president of our country,” the party said in
response to his televised address.
It is unlikely that Zuma will be in
parliament for the debate, which means that it might escape the chaotic
scenes which have regularly erupted when he is present.
Previous disruptions have been sparked
by the radical Economic Freedom Fighters, led by firebrand Julius
Malema, who vowed after the appeal court judgement that they will no
longer allow Zuma to address the assembly.
“In between now and the impeachment, the president will not speak in parliament and we will stop him physically.
“We will push him because President Zuma
is no longer the president of the Republic of South Africa,” Malema
told a news conference.
Zuma has been urged to resign by a
number of senior ANC veterans of the struggle against apartheid, which
brought Mandela to power in 1994, but analysts say that too many current
office-holders fear that if the president falls they will fall with
him.
Zuma, 73, will complete his second term in office in 2019, and is barred by the constitution from running again.
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