There’s some massive breaking news from the Gauteng High Court on Wednesday morning – and former President Jacob Zuma has been ordered to return to jail, after the decision to award him medical parole was rejected.
The courts have ruled that the initial decision, shrouded in controversy, was an ‘unlawful act’ that needed to be set aside. The ruling now declares that Zuma’s medical parole is null and void, and he must be incarcerated once more. The legal challenge, filed by the DA, has been a successful one.
On top of that, the Department of Correctional Services says the 79-year-old MUST serve the full length of his sentence, and the three months he’s spent out of prison DOES NOT count as time served.
UNLUCKY FOR UBABA: MEDICAL PAROLE OFFER WITHDRAWN
The verdict is a stinging rebuke of the questionable process that led to Jacob Zuma walking free from prison. Msholozi, who was jailed after contravening the Commissions Act by refusing to attend the State Capture Commission, had initially been given a 15-month prison sentence back in July.
However, he barely spent a month behind bars before he was transferred to a prison hospital, and shortly afterwards, his former comrade Arthur Fraser pulled some strings to secure his release on medical parole.
- That contentious decision, however, has now been reversed, with the final judgment reading:
“The decision of the First Respondent, Arthur Fraser, to place the third Respondent on medical parole, taken on 5 September 2021, is reviewed, declared unlawful, and set aside.”
“It is hereby directed that the third Respondent be returned to the custody of the Department of Correctional Services to serve out the remainder of his sentence of imprisonment.”
“The time [Jacob Zuma] was out of jail on medical parole should not be counted for the fulfilment of the Third Respondent’s sentence of 15 months imposed by the Constitutional Court.”
Gauteng High Court
The South African News
