South Africa's ruling ANC sought today to limit the damage from a damning ombudsman's report which ruled that multi-million dollar state-funded upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's private home were unlawful.
Media reaction to the report -- which described the USD 23 million spent on renovations at Zuma's country homestead as excessive and ordered him to repay some of the costs -- was scathing.
"Licence to loot," thundered the headline in The Mail and Guardian, which first broke the story about the renovations in 2009.
The African National Congress, whose popularity is flagging ahead of May 7 elections, said officials implicated in the scandal should be called to account and misspent money repaid.
But it tried to divert attention from its tainted leader, who his running for office again.
"All public office bearers, officials and private sector companies involved in any maladministration must be brought to book, and all funds that were acquired inappropriately must be recovered," said ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe.
"When we say all, we mean all," Mantashe told a news conference in Johannesburg, when asked if this included Zuma.
But he denounced calls for Zuma's impeachment as a "premeditated position that has nothing to do with the report".
South African laws are vague about the consequences of the head of state breaking the ethics code.
But the main opposition Democratic Alliance has said it would start impeachment proceedings against Zuma and has opened a case of corruption against him at a police station in Nkandla.
"We have opened a case of corruption against president Zuma, based on the findings of the report and his role in the matter," said party spokesman Mmusi Maimane.
"We believe he has a case to answer."
The newly-found Economic Freedom Fighters, led by the erstwhile leader of the ANC youth league, Julius Malema, also laid charges of corruption, theft, fraud and racketeering against Zuma in Pretoria.
Malema was in 2012 expelled from the ANC for ill-discipline.
