South African President Jacob Zuma is accused of corruption, fraud, money-laundering and racketeering. FILE PHOTO | NMG
South Africa’s top court will rule on Friday on a bid to compel
parliament to launch impeachment proceedings against President Jacob
Zuma over a scandal related to state-funded upgrades to his private
home, opposition parties and media said on Thursday.
Zuma
has faced widespread public demands to step down as president of
Africa’s most industrialised economy before a general election in 2019
and such proceedings could increase pressure on him to quit.
Zuma,
75, is in a weakened position after Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa
was narrowly elected leader of Zuma’s ruling African National Congress
(ANC) last week, although Zuma’s faction still retains key positions in
the party and he has already survived no-confidence votes.
The
Constitutional Court reserved judgment on any impeachment in September
after opposition parties submitted an application in the wake of a
ruling that Zuma failed to uphold the constitution by not abiding by a
watchdog’s finding that he repay some of the public money spent on his
sprawling rural home.
Judgment
South
African news channel eNCA and the EWN news network reported on Thursday
that the Constitutional Court would issue its ruling on Friday.
The
opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party said on its Twitter
account that it had been informed by the court that a judgment would be
made on Friday.
An official at the court, who was not
authorised to speak to the media, said the court was expected to make a
ruling at 0800 GMT on Friday.
In March 2016, the court
ruled that Zuma pay back some of the roughly $15 million in state money
spent upgrading his private home.
The unanimous ruling
by the 11-judge Constitutional Court, a central pillar of the democracy
established at the end of apartheid, also said Zuma had failed to
“uphold, defend and respect” the constitution by ignoring the findings
of the watchdog led by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.
Zuma
has since repaid 7.8 million rand ($631,000) - the sum determined by
the Treasury as the “reasonable cost” he should bear - while also
surviving a no-confidence motion in parliament where members of own his
party voted to oust him.
Zuma has denied wrongdoing
over many of the corruption allegations that have swirled around his
presidency. Last week Zuma sought leave to appeal a court ruling
ordering him to set up a judicial inquiry into influence-peddling in his
government.
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