81-year-old ex-president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, made a return to prison on Friday, only to be released without delay, marking another surprising turn in his contempt of court case.
As per the court’s order, Zuma returned to prison and arrived at the detention facility in the eastern town of Estcourt at 6:00 am (0400 GMT), where his admission into the system was confirmed by the prison service, following the requisite protocols.
However, he was released in slightly over an hour as part of a ‘remission process,’ a measure implemented to tackle prison overcrowding, as explained by Makgothi Thobakgale, the national commissioner of Correctional Services.
‘Upon admission into the system he was subjected to administrative processes… He was then released,’ Thobakgale told a press conference in Pretoria.
Zuma received a 15-month sentence in June 2021 for his refusal to testify before a panel investigating financial corruption and cronyism during his presidency. However, he was granted medical parole a mere two months into his term.
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His prison term began in early July 2021.
The incarceration triggered protests that spiried into riots and looting, leaving over 350 dead, making it the most severe instance of violence South Africa has faced since the advent of democracy.
One month later, he was hospitalized for an undisclosed medical condition before being given medical parole.
An appeals court, in November last, found that the release had been granted illegally, leading to the court’s order for Zuma to return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.
The South African prison service, which had initially authorized Zuma’s conditional release, lodged an appeal against the ruling; however, the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal last month.
Thobakgale stated that the former president was directed to return to prison on Friday in adherence to the court’s ruling.
However, Zuma immediately gained from a remission program for non-violent offenders, which had been authorized by President Cyril Ramaphosa, as stated by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola.
Lamola disclosed that the process would lead to the release of over 24,000 inmates, with approximately two-thirds of these individuals being under correctional supervision and parole.
The move ‘will alleviate overcrowding’ which ‘poses a direct threat to inmate health, security, and management, and it could lead to a surge in gangsterism,’ the minister said.
According to Mzwanele Manyi, the representative for Zuma’s foundation, the ex-president is presently ‘at home’ and in discussions with his legal team.
Zuma held the presidency from 2009 to 2018 but was compelled to step down due to corruption allegations.
Apart from his 2021 contempt of court conviction, he is under investigation for separate corruption charges related to an arms procurement scandal that traces back to the late 1990s, a period when he held the position of vice president.