SA’s parliament faulted for not holding Zuma accountable

The Constitutional Court in South Africa has ruled that the country’s Parliament failed to hold President Jacob Zuma to account.

Friday’s ruling was to determine whether Parliament should launch impeachment proceedings against the president.

The case was brought by the EFF, UDM and COPE against the Speaker of the National Assembly in order to compel the House to carry out its constitutional functions and scrutinise President Jacob Zuma’s conduct.

Below are the key orders, as read out by one of the judges Jafta:

1. This court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear the application.
2. The failure by the National Assembly to make rules regulating removal of a president in terms of Section 89, Sub 1 of the Constitution, constitutes a violation of this section…
3. The National Assembly must comply with Section 237 of the Constitution and make rules referred to in paragraph 2 without delay.
4. The failure by the National Assembly to determine whether the president has breached Section 89, Sub 1, A or B of the Constitution, is inconsistent with this section and Section 42-3 of the Constitution.
5. The National Assembly must comply with Section 237 of the Constitution and fulfil the obligation referred to in paragraph 4 without delay.
6. The National Assembly and the president must pay costs of the application jointly…including costs to counsel, where applicable.

The country’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s view however was that the matter was a text book case of judicial overreach and that it would be intruding into Parliament’s domain.

Jacob Zuma has already been replaced as leader of the ruling African National congress by his deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

The African National Congress in its official statement said it “has noted the judgment delivered by the Constitutional Court today, 29 December 2017, in relation to the matter brought by a number of opposition parties for Parliament to institute impeachment proceedings against the President of the Republic of South Africa, Comrade Jacob Zuma.”

The ANC says it “will study the judgment and discuss its full implications when the National Executive Committee meets on the 10th January 2018.”

Source: Africafeeds.com