Cape Town – Jacob Zuma “is walking, talking, breathing and laughing”, his spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi has said, as the former president awaits his release from hospital.
Manyi, however, said Zuma remains “unwell”.
“He (Zuma) is a good man so when he sees people, he smiles like a typical grandfather that in the face of adversity must still put up a brave face.
“But the man is not 100% well and the exact nature and all of those things, as you know, we cannot divulge but he’s walking, he’s talking, he’s breathing, he’s laughing,” said Manyi during an interview with Jacaranda FM.
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Zuma has been hospitalised since August 6 at a health facility outside the prison where he had been incarcerated for 15 months for ignoring a court order to testify before a judicial panel probing corruption during his nine-year tenure which lasted until 2018.
He was granted medical parole by the department of correctional services on September 5. He will complete the rest of his sentence in a “system of community corrections”.
Manyi this week refused to reveal details of when the former president will be discharged from hospital, but confirmed that a thanksgiving prayer reception event will be held in his honour.
According to EWN, Manyi maintained that Zuma’s discharge date would not be disclosed due to security concerns.
“The whereabouts of his excellency, President Zuma, have become a security issue. Whenever he leaves the hospital, we will not announce it, so maybe the first time you hear he’s been at one of these receptions things is when he goes to one of them,” the report quoted Manyi as saying.
Zuma’s older brother Joseph said the former president could be home before the long weekend, according to Times Live.
“I was told to wait for this week to pass and then he will be home. That is what they said to me, but we are still going to confirm,” the report quoted Joseph as saying.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional reporting by AFP
