Will former president Jacob Zuma go back to jail or not? That is the question.
It is unclear whether or not former president Jacob Zuma will ever set foot again in jail following the Constitutional Court judgment released on Thursday.
The Supreme Court of Appeal told Zuma to go back to jail. He politely declined by asking the Concourt to rule on the matter, and the apex court said the SCA was correct.
The Concourt jailed him for 15 months after he was in contempt of court on the Zondo Commission and the Apex court.
The SCA found that Zuma has not finished serving the 15 months jail sentence for the contempt of court conviction.
There is a question of whether the time he spent on medical parole, whether or not it was lawfully granted, should count as time served.
The SCA said that it should be left to the Commissioner of Correctional Services to decide for him to decide on. It did not rule on that.
In theory, now the Correctional Services Commissioner could say he find that the time Zuma spent on medical parole should count as time served, and if it goes that way, this would mean that the sentence is done.
Former Correctional Services Commissioner Arthur Fraser released Zuma on medical parole. This was despite the fact that medical professionals said he was in perfect health.
Spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) Singabakho Nxumalo said the department is studying the Constitutional Court judgment for the review application in relation to the medical parole placement for Zuma.
“DCS is seeking legal advice and will comment further in due course,” Nxumalo said.
JGZ foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi told Xinhua media to refer all Constitutional Court rulings on the Correctional Services Application regarding parole enquiries regarding the ruling to the Department of Correctional Services.
“It was only DCS that appealed the SCA judgment, and President Zuma only applied for leave to intervene as an interested party only if the appeal was to take place. Since the ConCourt has refused DCS leave to appeal, the application for leave to intervene naturally falls away as there are no pending proceedings in which to intervene. It is not my intention to hijack the DCS space in the Public discourse,” said Manyi.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said a “political solution”, which includes a presidential pardon, is required over the possible re-incarceration of Zuma.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said they would not hesitate to go back to court if a decision taken by the Commissioner unfairly favours Zuma.