CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – South Africa’s scandal-plagued President Jacob Zuma yesterday survived an impeachment vote in parliament launched after the constitutional court ruled he had ignored an order to repay state funds spent on his private home.
Zuma, whose colourful private life has often overshadowed his status as the leader of Africa’s most industrialised economy, came through the impeachment move thanks to the African National Congress’s big majority in the 400-seat assembly.
But the fall-out from the crisis has engendered political uncertainty which investors fear might yet hasten a credit ratings downgrade by ratings agencies.
Zuma, 73, who was not at the fiery session in parliament yesterday, may be safe for now. But his image has been further dented and many believe his trademark charm which has ensured him survival for so long might not be enough to keep him politically afloat indefinitely.
The ANC, which controls almost two-thirds of the assembly, gave Zuma the support he needed as expected, with 233 lawmakers voting against the impeachment motion and 143 voting in favour.
The rand weakened by more than 2 percent, partly on political risk jitters over the vote.
The motion, launched by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), led to an emotional debate following last week’s ruling by the court that the president had breached the constitution by ignoring an order to repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovating his home.
“The choice is whether or not you will choose to protect your oath of office that you took here in this house, to protect the constitution, or to serve Jacob Zuma,” Mmusi Maimane, leader of the DA party said. Julius Malema, leader of the smaller opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, said: “Zuma and the ANC want to convert South Africa into a banana republic.”
ANC lawmakers argued that Zuma had not violated the constitution deliberately and did not deserve to be impeached. But they acknowledged the party had much to do to rebuild its image.
“There has been damage on the part of the ANC. We need to go down on the ground and explain exactly what happened. We still have a lot to do,” ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu told reporters outside parliament. “We believe him (Zuma). We accept his apology. We think we can now move forward.”
Zuma had already secured the backing of top ANC officials on Friday, after apologising for failing to repay some of the money spent on his residence.
“The president has apologised and that’s the humility that is necessary for any leader,” ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe told 702 Talk Radio, after a wider group of party members met on Monday to discuss Zuma.
Zuma has survived several political and personal scandals, fending off accusations of corruption, influence peddling and even rape before he took office in 2009.
On March 1, he survived his second no-confidence vote in a year over what the DA party called his reckless handling of the economy.
