Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to pardon former president Jacob Zuma if the Commissioner of Correctional Services deems it necessary for Zuma to return to jail.
This comes after the Constitutional Court dismissed an attempt to overturn the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling that Zuma must return to prison.
Zuma was initially sentenced to 15 months in jail for contempt of court in 2021.
Malema emphasised the need to prevent a recurrence of the violence and destruction that occurred during the unrest following Zuma’s imprisonment, with over 300 people losing their lives.
He argued that it was time for Zuma to be released, urging Ramaphosa to prioritise peace over the idea that no one is above the law.
” The judgment is not what you guys are saying. The judgment says the Department of Correctional Services must still make a decision. So, I can’t go to President [Ramaphosa] about a non-existing decision, but if they say he must go to [jail], I will go to him and argue my case with him that the guy is sick. The guy is old; his struggle credentials, his service to the public office and the fact that he served time in prison and the fact that parole on its own does not mean you are free; you continue to serve even from outside. It is enough for you to give him a presidential pardon to avoid the possibility of instability which was experienced in KZN,” Malema told a press briefing in Johannesburg on Friday.
♦️Must Watch♦️
CIC @Julius_S_Malema at the Frank Dialogue with Editors reflecting on the 10 years of the EFF.
– Zuma has served. It is enough. Why do you still want to burn this country even after a person has served? #EFFTurns10#MalemaOnFrankDialogue pic.twitter.com/455eBkXRTs
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) July 14, 2023
He added: “We must try and mitigate a situation where we avoid violence. We have seen 350 to 400 Africans die in July, and we don’t want a repeat of that. If the president can intervene in the country’s best interest, that is good. Because he is not using the presidential pardon to pardon his auditor or his own lawyer or anything. It is not personal; it is for the cause.
“But the president’s hands are not tied, and that is what we want to remind him of. We have reached a point where we must choose peace over all these types of things that we are talking about. To say, no one is above the law. Zuma served. It’s enough! Why do you still want to burn this country after this person has served? He has served. It is enough.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
