Cape Town - Constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos said following the Supreme Court judgment declaring Jacob Zuma’s medical parole unlawful and invalid, the former president must go back to prison.
“This means the situation must return to what it was when the parole was granted. In the absence of a successful appeal, Zuma will have to go back to prison and serve at least one quarter of his sentence before he could be considered for ordinary parole.
“At this point, one of the factors that may be relevant is the circumstances around Zuma’s unlawfully granted medical parole. Zuma was unlawfully released on medical parole,” De Vos said.
He said Zuma could approach the Constitutional Court to ask it to grant him leave to appeal against the judgment.
“Whether it is in the interest of justice to hear the appeal, and the prospects of success will be the main factors the Concourt will consider when deciding on whether to grant leave to appeal,” De Vos said.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation had yet to comment on the judgment at the time of publication.
The Department of Correctional Services said it noted the judgment handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal in respect of the medical parole placement for the former president.
Zuma was appealing against a decision by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, last December which ruled that the former president’s placement on medical parole was unlawful and that he should return to jail.
It ruled that Zuma’s medical parole was unlawful and that then correctional services commissioner Arthur Fraser was not entitled to approve his release. Zuma’s appeal that was heard at the Supreme Court in August was dismissed with costs.
The judgment was delivered on the matter heard by a full Bench led by Justice T Makgoka on whether the commission was entitled to release an inmate on parole despite the absence of the board.
It said in part: “In December the high court reviewed the decision of the commissioner, set aside, and substituted it with one rejecting Mr Zuma’s application for medical parole. It consequently directed that Mr Zuma be returned to department to serve out the remainder of his sentence.”
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said they respected the court’s decision.
Zuma was imprisoned for contempt of court, and the move resulted nationwide riots in July 2021.
His incarceration led to what is now known as the July Unrest, which resulted in massive looting and destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. More than 300 people lost their lives during the unrest, and the cost of damage to infrastructure ran into at billions of rand.
Opposition parties like the DA and Cope welcomed the judgment, saying it was a victory for them and the people of South Africa.
NTOMBI NKOSI AND MASHUDU SADIKE