Jacob Zuma failed to pay back millions

South African president Jacob Zuma “failed to uphold” the constitution when he did not pay back some of the millions of dollars in state funds used to upgrade his home, South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled.

The ruling could significantly weaken the leader, who is fending off multiple accusations of alleged misconduct at the highest levels of government though he still retained the support of powerful factions in his party, the African National Congress.

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said it would begin impeachment proceedings against Zuma immediately. While parliament has the power to remove him, ruling party lawmakers defeated a no-confidence vote against Zuma earlier this year.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng also said that parliament, which is dominated by the ANC, had failed in its obligations by not holding Zuma to account in the spending scandal.

Zuma is already under scrutiny because of allegedly improper links to the Guptas, a wealthy business family in South Africa. Questions about the extent of the Gupta’s influence have exposed some divisions within the ruling party.