Cape Town – The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein has reportedly dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s medical parole appeal, saying he must return to prison.
News24 reported on Monday that the SCA had confirmed that the medical parole granted to Zuma by then-prison boss Arthur Fraser was unlawful.
“He must return to the [Estcourt] Correctional Centre to do so. Whether the time spent by Mr Zuma on unlawfully granted medical parole should be taken into account in determining the remaining period of his incarceration, is not a matter for this court to decide.
JUST IN: SCA unanimously confirms that Jacob Zuma was unlawfully granted medical parole and orders that he return to prison.
It will be for prison authorities to decide whether the time he spent on unlawful medical parole should count as part of his 15-month contempt sentence. pic.twitter.com/WO2MmO5hQR— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) November 21, 2022
“It is a matter to be considered by the commissioner. If he is empowered by law to do so, the commissioner might take that period into account in determining any application or grounds for release,” the court said.
According to EWN, Zuma and the correctional service’s office of the national commissioner will split the costs between them for AfriForum as well as the Democratic Alliance, including the costs of counsel.
Zuma was granted parole by the department of correctional services in early September – just weeks after he was 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.
His parole was challenged by a number of parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Helen Suzman Foundation and AfriForum.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
