AP, Johannesburg
South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday apologized for a scandal over millions of dollars in state spending on his private residence and said he would abide by a Constitutional Court ruling that he should pay back some funds.
In a nationally televised address, Zuma said he acted “in good faith” in the long dispute over his Nkandla home, which fueled concerns about alleged corruption at the highest levels of government as well as opposition calls for the president to resign.
“The matter has caused a lot of frustration and confusion for which I apologize on my behalf and on behalf of government,” Zuma said. The speech was unlikely to curb an opposition move to impeach Zuma after South Africa’s top court said he had violated the constitution by not adhering to recommendations by a state watchdog agency that he should pay back some of the more than $20 million spent on his compound. However, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in a parliament where the ruling African National Congress party has a comfortable majority.