South African Court Orders Jacob Zuma Back To Jail

A South African court has ruled that the country's former President Jacob Zuma should be returned to prison, stating that his medical parole was unlawful.

0
194

A South African court has ruled that the country’s former President Jacob Zuma should be returned to prison, stating that his medical parole was unlawful.

Zuma was released on 5 September for an undisclosed medical condition but the Pretoria court ruled that the time he has spent out of prison should not be counted in his 15-month sentence.

He had been jailed for failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency.

The 79-year-old handed himself in to police in July after a public stand-off, but his jailing, unprecedented for a former president, sparked violent protests and looting.

More than 300 people, mostly in Zuma’s stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal province, died in the protests.

The former leader had testified only once at the inquiry into what has become known as “state capture” – the allegation that government decisions were being taken on behalf of business interests through a corrupt relationship.

Zuma is also facing a separate corruption and fraud trial related to a 2019 arms deal but the former president has repeatedly said he is the victim of a political conspiracy.

Prison authorities say his release on parole was compelled by a medical report, but his ailment has never been disclosed.

He did, however, undergo surgery after he was imprisoned.

The former president’s spokesman said at the time that imprisonment had had “an exponential impact in terms of deteriorating his condition”.

His lawyers also argued that their client’s illness had rendered him incapacitated.


Discover more from LN247

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.