Jean-Jacques Cornish

DA wants to join impeachment action against Jacob Zuma

The opposition Democratic Alliance has filed an application in South Africa’s highest court to intervene in the bid by far-left Economic Freedom Fighters to have President Jacob Zuma impeached.

Other opposition parties, the United Democratic Movement and the Congress of the People have already supported the EFF legal bid to force Parliamentary Baleka Mbete to introduce impeachment proceedings against the president.

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In March, the Economic Freedom Fighters initiated impeachment proceedings after the Constitutional Court found President Jacob Zuma did not uphold the Constitution.

The court finding relates to Zuma’s failure  to implement the Public Protector’s remedial action that he repay some of the public money spent on security upgrades at his private Nkandla home.

The DA says after reviewing the arguments made by the other applicants in the EFF case, it can provide new information.

It’s now applied to the Constitutional Court to make written submissions and oral argument before the matter is heard on 5 September.

Chairperson of the DA’s federal executive, James Selfe, says the matter presents an opportunity for the court to provide clear guidelines on impeachment proceedings.

The case is only one attempt to remove Zuma from office.

The National Assembly is expected to vote on a motion of no confidence in him on 8 August.

The Constitutional Court has found that Mbete is empowered to have this matter decided on a secret vote by MPs

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Jean-Jacques Cornish is a journalist and broadcaster who has been involved in the media all his adult life.

Starting as a reporter on his hometown newspaper, he moved briefly to then Rhodesia before returning to South Africa to become a parliamentary correspondent with the South African Press Association. He was sent to London as Sapa’s London editor and also served as special correspondent to the United Nations. He joined the then Argus group in London as political correspondent.

Returning to South Africa after 12 years abroad, he was assistant editor on the Pretoria News for a decade before becoming editor of the Star and SA Times for five years.

Since 1999 he’s been an independent journalist writing and broadcasting – mainly about Africa – for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape
Talk, Radio France International, PressTV, Radio Live New Zealand, Business Day, Mail & Guardian, the BBC, Agence France Press,
Business in Africa, Leadership, India Today, the South African Institute for International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies.

He has hosted current affairs talk shows on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. He appears as an African affairs pundit on SABC Africa and CNBC Africa.
He lectured in contemporary studies to journalism students at the Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Pretoria.

He speaks on African affairs to corporate and other audiences.
He has been officially invited as a journalist to more than 30 countries. He was the winner of the 2007 SADC award for radio journalism.

He’s been a member of the EISA team observing elections in Somaliland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Tunsiai.

In October 2009 he headed a group of 39 African journalists to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In January 2010 he joined a rescue and paramedical team to earthquake struck Haiti.

He is immediate past president of the Alliance Francaise of Pretoria.

Jean-Jacques is a director of Giant Media. The company was given access to Nelson Mandela in his retirement years until 2009.
He is co-producer of the hour-long documentary Mandela at 90 that was broadcast on BBC in January 2009.