The DA wants the decision by President Jacob Zuma to sack finance minister Praving Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, to be overturned in court on the grounds that it was irrational.
The party brought an application before the high court in Pretoria asking it to review Zuma's decision and set it aside, because it was irrational, unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. The DA has reportedly also asked the court to submit all the documents related to his decision and give reasons for them, according to Business Day.
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The DA also wants to know whether Zuma relied on the so-called "intelligence" report when deciding to fire them.
The report alleged that, during an overseas trip to meet with investors, Gordhan had supposedly met regime-change plotters, and this is why he had to be called home and later fired.
Business Day reported that, Da federal chairman James Selfe made the case in his founding affidavit that there was a well-established principle of law, that the exercise of all public power was subject to the principle of legality. Selfe reportedly said Zuma's decision to remove Gordhan and Jonas did not comply with the basic requirements for the exercise of public power: that it must be rational, exercised for a legitimate public purpose and exercised on the right gacts.
Selfe further said that retaining ministers Bathabile Dlamini (social development) and Faith Muthambi (communications) showed that Zuma did not shuffle his cabinet for "efficiency and effectiveness", as he had formerly stated.