S.Africa’s under fire Zuma to address nation

Embattled South African President Jacob Zuma addresses the nation Thursday against a background of concerted efforts in the courts, parliament and on the streets to throw him out of office.
A scandal over public money spent on his private residence and damage done to the economy when he fired two finance ministers within days are the major factors fuelling the “Zuma must fall” protests.

Zuma’s annual state of the nation address in parliament comes just two days after the Constitutional Court heard a crucial case accusing him of violating his oath to uphold the constitution.

Two opposition parties took the case to court over Zuma’s initial refusal to obey a ruling by the national ombudswoman that he repay some of the $24 million lavished on his private home at Nkandla.

His own lawyers accepted in court that the case had “traumatised the nation,” and conceded that he needed to obey.

But they urged the court not to be “inveigled into a position of making some form of wide, condemnatory order, which will be used effectively for… an impeachment in parliament”.

The court reserved judgement.

Radical opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) pledged after the hearing that they would indeed use an adverse ruling by the court to press for Zuma’s impeachment.

Any such attempt would likely fail in a parliament, where Zuma’s African National Congress (ANC) holds an overwhelming majority.