[ 2016-03-31 ]

SA court rules Zuma breached constitution

South Africa's highest court has ruled that
President Jacob Zuma violated the constitution
when he failed to repay some of the government
money used to upgrade his private home.


The treasury had 60 days to determine how much he
should repay, it added.

The ruling is a victory for the opposition, which
said it would push for Mr Zuma's impeachment.

It accused him of using "ill-gotten wealth" to
upgrade his home with a swimming pool and
amphitheatre.

Mr Zuma denied any wrongdoing. He has not yet
commented on the ruling.

An anti-corruption body, known as the public
protector, ruled in 2014 that $23m (£15m) had
been spent on his rural home in Nkandla in South
Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province.

Mr Zuma had "unduly benefited", and should repay a
portion of the money, the public protector said.

In a unanimous judgement, the Constitutional Court
said Mr Zuma's failure to heed the directive was
"inconsistent" with the constitution.

"The president failed to uphold, defend and
respect the constitution of the Republic," it
added.

The case was brought by two opposition parties,
the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the
Democratic Alliance (DA).

Mr Zuma's conduct constituted "grounds for
impeachment", the DA said in its reaction to the
judgement.

Source - BBC

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