Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma’s legal counsel on Tuesday admitted he made an error in law on the powers of the Public Protector, but resisted suggestions that he had behaved in bad faith.
Jeremy Gauntlett, SC, for Zuma, said these suggestions could pave the way for opposition parties to call for his impeachment.
Read: #Nkandla case: Zuma accepts report binding
“This is a delicate time in a dangerous year,” Gauntlett told the eleven justices who are hearing two applications, by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) respectively, on whether the failure to comply with the remedial action set out by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on “security upgrades” to Zuma's Nkandla homestead constituted a breach of constitutional duties by both Zuma and the National Assembly.
“It will be wrong if this this court makes a ruling which may result in a call for impeachment. The DA and EFF may try to impeach. Some have argued that the president was defiant...but it was an error in law,” he said.
Read: #Nkandla case: ‘Zuma looted the State’
He told the court earlier that direct access to the court for the applicants was in the court's hands and that he had nothing to add to the matter.
In 2014, Madonsela identified a cattle kraal, chicken run, amphitheatre, visitor centre and a swimming pool as non security features for which Zuma should pay a reasonable amount back to the State. Zuma had until last week defied calls to comply with Madonsela's directive to pay back a portion of the over R200 million spent on the upgrades.
Read: #Nkandla case: ‘Zuma erred in law’
In a surprising move last week, Zuma offered to pay a portion of the money, the sum of which would be determined with the help of the Auditor General and the Treasury.
The DA and the EFF have since rejected Zuma's offer and committed to proceed with the court hearings. The parties want the court to make a ruling on Madonsela's powers.
The hearing continues.
African News Agency
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