While former president Jacob Zuma has filed an appeal against a court ruling ordering him back to jail, the DA, Helen Suzman Foundation and AfriForum who took the matter to court, have welcomed the result.
The high court in Pretoria on Wednesday overturned a decision by former correctional services boss Arthur Fraser to release Zuma on medical parole, saying the decision is unlawful, and adding that the time he spent outside jail for his 15-month term should not be counted.
“The judgment is clearly wrong & there are strong prospects that a higher court will come to a totally different conclusion,” the Zuma foundation said in a statement.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said judge Keoagile Elias Matojane’s judgment closes the door on any prospect of a suspect appeal of the decision when it ruled that, “No administrative expertise is required from the commissioner, and there is no basis upon which the commissioner could again overrule the recommendation of the [Medical Advisory] Board. This court is in as good a position and thus as well qualified as the commissioner to make a decision.”
Steenhuisen appealed for calm and urged Zuma’s supporters to accept the judgment “without resorting to further violence and protest”. Zuma’s conviction in July is largely believed to have sparked the weeklong riots in which infrastructure to the value of millions of rand was destroyed in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, wiping an estimated R50bn off GDP and leaving more than 300 people dead.
The former president was sent to jail after he defied an earlier Constitutional Court ruling ordering him to testify before the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture. Prison authorities approved his medical release in September. His condition was not publicly disclosed.
The commission heard through various witness statements that crucial state institutions such as power utility Eskom and rail and port operator Transnet were hollowed out by corruption and mismanagement by Zuma associates. Zuma denied the allegations and opted to criticise the inquiry and its chairperson, deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, for what he described as an effort to discredit him.
The department of correctional services said that it is studying the judgment and will make any announcements later.
The ANC, which had previously called on Zuma to abide by the Constitutional Court ruling, said it will wait on any further pronouncements by the correctional services department before making further comments.
Afriforum head of policy and action Ernst Roets said, “The public has been concerned for quite some time, for there are obvious double standards in the SA legal system and that senior politicians or people with political connections are not treated the same way as the rest of the public. This is why AfriForum got involved in this matter as an applicant and also why we regard this as a major breakthrough for justice in this country.”
Anton van Dalsen of the foundation welcomed the ruling ordering Zuma back to jail.
“The litigation is aimed at ensuring that everyone complies with the rule of law and the constitution… People tend to lose sight of that given the facts of the case,” he said.
Lobby group Outa said if Zuma’s application for leave to appeal is granted, the appeal would be heard by the high court; if not, he would need to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal to hear his appeal.
The high court decision would be suspended if his appeal application is granted, “unless one of the parties in the matter applied to the court for the decision to stand while the appeal is heard”.
This is a developing story.
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