[JURIST] South Africa’s highest court [official website] heard arguments on Monday from opposition parties [press release] who demanded that the motion of no-confidence [application, PDF] against President Jacob Zuma be voted on using a secret ballot. Zuma, who has been implicated in a series of corruption scandals, has survived similar past impeachment efforts and is also the leader of the African National Congress [official website] (ANC), which holds a majority in parliament. Mmusi Maimane, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party [official website], told protesters that a secret ballot would force “ANC members of parliament to choose between what is best for the themselves and what is best for South Africa.”

This is not the first time that Zuma has faced controversy in South Africa politics. Zuma was ousted [JURIST report] as the country’s deputy president in 2005 after an aide was convicted of corruption. He was also charged with rape, but was ultimately acquitted and reinstated [JURIST report] as African National Congress deputy vice president. In July 2008 the South African Constitutional Court rejected a motion [JURIST report] by Zuma to exclude evidence from the corruption trial. Zuma had argued [JURIST report] that evidence seized in 2005 raids by the Directorate of Special Investigations should be thrown out because the raids violated his rights to privacy and a fair trial. The court upheld the warrants used in the raids, confirming a November 2007 decision [JURIST report] by the Supreme Court of Appeal. He was first charged with corruption in 2005, but those charges were later dismissed [JURIST report] because prosecutors failed to follow proper procedures.