The former Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane, has called for South African President Jacob Zuma to step down. On31 March 2016 the Constitutional Court ruled the president “failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution” because failed to act upon graft ombudsman Thuli Madonsela’s directive to repay some of the 215.9 million rand spent on refurbishing his private home. In a 1 April 2016 televised address President Zuma apologized for the frustration the public felt, but said he had never intentionally did anything illegal. Archbishop Ndungane, who heads up an anti-corruption watchdog group, said he was unimpressed by the apology. It “was a wholly inadequate response to yesterday’s Constitutional Court unanimous judgment which found that neither he nor the National Assembly upheld the Constitution of South Africa in the Nkandla debacle”‚ the archbishop said, adding: “The litany of excuses trotted out by President Zuma in his address‚ exonerating himself from any responsibility for the debacle‚ and culminating in an apology which could be best described as ‘lame’‚ was a deep disappointment to the people of South Africa‚ particularly the poor and marginalised‚ who had been hoping for a courageous acknowledgment of and response to the grave implications of yesterday’s ruling. I am deeply disappointed with both President Zuma and the ANC tonight.” The president “Simply has no comprehension of the damage that his actions‚ and that of the ANC-controlled National Assembly‚ have had on the good name of our country‚ on its economy‚ and on the poor and marginalised.”
