DA apply to intervene in Zuma impeachment case
25 July 2017
The DA has today filed an intervening application in the matter currently before the Constitutional Court on procedures to be followed in the impeachment proceedings against any President.
The DA brought a motion in terms of section 89 of the Constitution on 5 April 2016 to impeach President Zuma following the Nkandla judgment which found that not only did the President violate the Constitution and that he and his family unduly benefited from the R246 million upgrade to the homestead, but also that he had failed to fulfil his constitutional obligations by ignoring the Public Protector's remedial action.
On that occasion, there ought to have been a mechanism through which a prima facie case against President Zuma ought to have been formulated, whether through a parliamentary committee or through some other mechanism.
It is our view that not only did the National Assembly breach its constitutional duties by failing to institute effective impeachment investigations against President Zuma but further breached these duties by failing to create and implement effective mechanisms to allow for impeachment investigations and hearings, ahead of a Parliamentary vote.