South African President Jacob Zuma has apologized for a scandal which involved millions of dollars in state spending on his private residence. He said he would abide by a Constitutional Court ruling that he should pay back some funds.

"The judgement has helped me and my colleagues to reflect deeply on the entire matter, with hindsight there are many matters that could have been handled differently and which should never have been allowed to drag on this long, which we deeply regret," said Zuma.

The scandal over his Nkandla home has fuelled concerns about alleged corruption at the highest levels of government as well as opposition calls for the president to resign.

However, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in a parliament where the ruling African National Congress party has a comfortable majority and has already defeated a no-confidence motion against Zuma this year.