The Constitutional Court will on Tuesday hear an application by opposition parties for Parliament to institute impeachment proceedings against President Jacob Zuma.

The Constitutional Court in a statement said the application was brought by the EFF, the UDM and Cope against National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and Zuma for various orders directed against them.

The orders include one declaring that Mbete failed to put in place all appropriate procedures and mechanisms to hold Zuma accountable following the president’s failure to implement recommendations in the former Public Protector’s report into Nkandla in 2014.

“The applicants seek a declaratory order that National Assembly Speaker’s actions in the face of the president’s ‘egregious violations of the Constitution’ [are] unconstitutional.

“The applicants seek to obtain an order compelling the Speaker to take necessary and appropriate steps to determine the seriousness of the violation of the Constitution by the president as a prelude to reporting to the National Assembly for the purpose of holding the president accountable under section 89 of the Constitution.”

Mbete opposes the application, according to the statement.

Nkandla upgrades

In 2016 Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng found that Zuma had failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution.

News24 previously reported that former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had found that upgrades to Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, were not all for security purposes, as stated.

She found that Zuma had unduly benefited from some of the upgrades which included the building of an amphitheatre, a cattle kraal, a chicken run and swimming pool, among other things.

As a course of remedial action, she recommended that he pay back a portion of the funds used for the upgrades.

However, Madonsela’s report was set aside by the National Assembly after Zuma made submissions on why he should not pay back the funds. An ad hoc committee led by the minister of police also backed Zuma’s submissions and exonerated him from upholding the report.

The DA and EFF were among the parties that took the matter to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the Public Protector’s report could not be ignored.

EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement that the party had instituted an application to the Constitutional Court to determine that Mbete should have subjected Zuma to a disciplinary process for violating the Constitution as requested by the EFF.

‘Conscience’ vote

In August Zuma survived yet another vote for a motion of no confidence against him.

However, this time, several ANC members “followed their conscience” and voted with members of the opposition.

Among those who have had to face the wrath of the ANC is Makhosi Khoza.

Khoza was removed as the chairperson by the public administration portfolio committee in August after ANC committee members said she contravened the ANC’s disciplinary code.

She is being charged by the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal — which nominated her for the position of MP — for bringing the party into disrepute after publicly calling on Zuma to step down. Khoza previously said she would not stop speaking out against corruption in the ANC despite repeated threats against her and her children.

Another ANC MP who is in hot water after the vote is Derek Hanekom.

The outspoken politician was reportedly asked to explain why the ANC shouldn’t remove him as chairperson of the party’s national disciplinary committee.

[Source: News24]