The Supreme Court of Appeal says former president Jacob Zuma must return to prison.
According to recent reports, former President Jacob Zuma’s appeal about his medical parole has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal. The SCA says Zuma must return to prison in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal.
In a unanimous judgment on Monday, November 21, the SCA said, “Mr. Zuma, in law, has not finished serving his sentence. He must return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre to do so.” Also, according to the judgment, how long Zuma stays in prison does not matter for the courts to decide. They stated that it was “a matter to be considered by the commissioner” of correctional services.
Justice Tati Makgoka further stated, “If he is empowered in law to do so, the commissioner might take [the period already spent on medical parole] into account in determining any application or grounds for release.” If Zuma wishes, he may still appeal the SCA’s order to the Constitutional Court. That would put the order on hold.
Zuma was granted medical parole by Arthur Fraser, former national commissioner of correctional services, after serving for less than two months of his 15 months imprisonment by the ConCourt for contempt (he breached the court’s order to obey the summons of the state capture commission). The parole was successfully challenged in the high court by the DA, the Helen Suzman Foundation, and AfriForum.
