The party wanted the circumstances under which Sudanese President Omar AlBashir was allowed to leave South Africa investigated.
An ad-hoc committee should investigate whether the constitution had been breached and whether Zuma should be removed from office for failing to effect an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on al-Bashir when he attended the African Union summit in June, the DA said.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha attempted to stop the debate, but presiding officer Cedrick Frolick ruled it should go ahead.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said that “our broken president broke the law to protect another broken man”.
“This government officially abandoned Nelson Mandela’s commitment to a human rights-based foreign policy on June 15,” he said.
“That was the day that Omar Al-Bashir was smuggled away . . . in defiance of an order of the North Gauteng High Court.
“It was an escape aided and abetted by President Zuma himself,” Maimane said.
Small Business Minister Lindiwe Zulu said the motion undermined the political relations between South Africa and other African Union member states.
Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffrey said arresting al-Bashir would have “imperilled South Africa’s relationships within the AU and with Sudan”.
