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South African parliament set to debate Zuma impeachment

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Troubled leader President Jacob Zuma has more issues to deal with following a proposed motion by the South African parliament to debate a motion tomorrow, Tuesday, on his impeachment.

Mmusi Maimane, leader of the opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA), tabled the motion to have Zuma impeached, and Mbete told reporters on Sunday “the debate on that motion has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.”

The move according to the National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete was reached after South Africa’s top court ruled that the president had violated the constitution by ignoring orders from the public protector that he repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent to renovate his private residence at Nkandla.

Read also: Opposition calls for Zuma’s impeachment

Ordinary South Africans, opposition party leaders and even an anti-apartheid activist jailed alongside Nelson Mandela have called on Zuma to step down since the court ruling.

The court ordered Zuma to pay some of the $16 million of state money expended on the mansion in a stinging rebuke, which has further smeared the image of the scandal-plagued leader.

According to the unanimous ruling of the 11-judge court, Zuma had failed to “uphold, defend and respect” the constitution by ignoring the Public Protector’s findings on his KwaZulu-Natal residence.

While delivering his judgement, the Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng gave the Treasury 60 days in which to determine their “reasonable cost”, after which Zuma would have a further 45 days to pay.

“The office of the Public Protector is one of the true crusaders and champions of anti-corruption and clean governance,” Mogoeng said. “Hers are indeed very wide powers that leave no lever of government power above scrutiny.”

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