South Africa Court Revokes Release Of Former President Zuma From Prison

The constitutional court in South Africa has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma was granted medical parole unlawfully.

Zuma had been given parole by the former head of the prison service, Arthur Fraser, who is regarded as an ally of the former president.

He was released in September 2021 after serving less than eight weeks of a 15-month jail sentence.

Zuma had been convicted of contempt, after refusing to co-operate with anti-corruption enquiry during his term in office.

He has recently been spotted at a climate conference in Zimbabwe.

The prisons department has said it is studying the constitutional court’s judgement and will comment after seeking legal advice.

This week marks the second anniversary of the deadly riots sparked by Zuma’s arrest. More than 350 people were killed in the violence.

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Zuma, 81, was sentenced in 2021 to 15 months imprisonment for defying a court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office, which ended in 2018.

He handed himself over to authorities in July 2021, but two months later was released on medical parole due to his ill health.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Appeals found that the decision to release Zuma on early medical parole was “unlawful” and that he should return to prison to finish his sentence for contempt of court.

That ruling was challenged by the National Commissioner of Correctional Services, but the Constitutional Court on Thursday found that the challenge had “no reasonable prospects of success” and should be dismissed.