Madonsela the winner; Zuma sycophants the losers

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela was the biggest winner to emerge from this week's Constitutional Court hearing into the Nkandla saga – and President Jacob Zuma, Parliament, Cabinet Ministers and sycophantic MPs the biggest losers, notes Legalbrief. Constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos makes the point that Zuma’s lawyers accepted Thuli Madonsela’s Nkandla report was binding and had to be implemented, adding Zuma also conceded he had been in the wrong and that his actions were based on the fear of impeachment. ‘Thirdly, Parliament did not concede that it acted wrongly, but given the other concessions, it is almost certain that the court will find Parliament completely stuffed up the way it dealt with the Public Protector's report,’ De Vos is quoted as saying in a News24 report. De Vos said he hoped the justices would deliver clear guidance about Parliament’s role in holding the executive accountable ‘because from the hearing it appears Parliament is not doing what the Constitution requires it to do.’ De Vos also praised Wim Trengrove, for the EFF, for presenting a ‘strong, logical, and rational’ case.

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