Parliament neglected South Africa around Zuma-rel

johannesburg - The highest court in South Africa has tapped the parliament. According to South African media, the Constitutional Court ruled that the MPs did not adequately carry out their checking task in a riot around President Jacob Zuma.

'The National Assembly did not hold the president responsible, as required,' the court ruled. Zuma was previously under fire because of a rebuilding of his house paid with taxpayers' money. The court later ruled that the president had not acted in accordance with the constitution.

Opposition parties then went to court because they felt that the parliament had reacted too passively to that ruling. The court gave the people's representation Friday 120 days to come up with guidelines on the dismissal of a president.

The constitution states that such a procedure can be initiated if a head of state is guilty of serious misconduct or serious offenses. However, it is unclear which offenses fall within that definition.