Zuma welcomes Constitutional Court judgment 'unreseverdly'

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma on Friday night said he welcomed the Constitutional Court's judgment on spending at his Nkandla home "unreservedly".

Addressing the nation live on SABC television, he said the judgement had underscored the values of the country's hard-won freedom and democracy.

"The judgment has further strengthened our constitutional democracy and should make South Africans proud of their country's Constitution.... This is a ground-breaking judgment."

On Thursday the Constitutional Court ruled that the president should adhere to the remedial actions of the public protector and pay back taxpayers' funds which were used for non-security upgrades worth millions at his Nkandla home. 

"The judgment has further strengthened our Constitutional democracy and should make South Africans proud of their country's Constitution," said Zuma, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie.

It found that Zuma's failure to comply with Thuli Madonsela's report was inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid.

Madonsela found in her report Secure in Comfort, released in March 2014, that Zuma had unduly benefited from some of the upgrades. She recommended that he repay a reasonable portion of the R246m spent on the upgrades and that the ministers involved in the project be reprimanded.

The court further ruled that the National Assembly had violated the Constitution by ignoring the public protector's report. 

Since the ruling, opposition parties have called for Zuma to step down. 

This article first appeared on News24, see here.