The government is on high alert for anything that could lead to a repeat of the July unrest, saying law enforcement agencies had learnt their lessons.
The SA National Defence Force will be deployed to monitor tollways and toll gates as the security establishment gears up for the festive season.
This follows a court judgment this week that set aside the decision to grant former president Jacob Zuma medical parole in September after he had served less than two months of his 15-month jail term for contempt of court.
The intelligence, defence and police top brass were blamed for the mayhem — which left more than 300 people dead — after they allegedly ignored early warning reports about the possibility of unrest.
Retail outlets, malls and warehouses were stripped of their contents and some of them burnt in the mayhem, which caused damage of about R50bn.
Speaking at a media briefing of the justice, crime prevention and security cluster on Thursday on security preparations for the holiday break, defence minister Thandi Modise said the military’s mandate is to protect the country’s infrastructure. “We cannot afford a situation as a country where trucks block strategic economic routes which ... affect the whole of Sadc,” she said, referring to the Southern African Development Community.
“Usually if there is any issue that might create uncertainty to life and limb, to property, to the economic interest of the country, defence gets interested.”
She said the ruling by the high court in Pretoria on Wednesday that Zuma’s medical parole was unlawful and that he should return to jail did not have any bearing on the mobilisation.
The message from the justice, crime prevention and security cluster ministers was there would be no repeat of July’s unrest. Police minister Bheki Cele said: “The members of the SA Police [and] all the law enforcement agencies learnt their lessons in July and the experience gained there will be used to make sure that SA remains safe, stable and calm.”
On Wednesday judge Elias Matojane reviewed, declared unlawful and set aside the decision by Arthur Fraser, the former national commissioner of correctional services, to place Zuma on medical parole on September 5.
Zuma had been sentenced by the Constitutional Court to an effective 15-month jail term for contempt of court for failing to obey an earlier order by the court to appear before the Zondo commission on state capture to answer questions.
The judge directed Zuma to be returned to the custody of the department of correctional services to serve out the remainder of his jail term.
“It is declared that the time [Zuma] was out of jail on medical parole should not be counted for the fulfilment of [Zuma’s] sentence of 15 months imposed by the Constitutional Court,” the judgment read in part.
Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said that the former president and his lawyers had come to “a firm conclusion to appeal this judgment”.
When Zuma turned himself in — under threat of arrest — at the Estcourt Correctional Centre to begin his sentence on July 8, he was examined by Dr QSM Mafa from the SA Military Health Services. On the same day, Mafa produced a report recommending that Zuma be moved to a high-care unit to ensure his health was not prejudiced. On July 28, Mafa applied for Zuma’s medical release to a specialist medical facility, stating that his condition may deteriorate if intervention was delayed.
Mafa applied for medical parole on Zuma’s behalf on July 28, saying the former president was suffering from a “terminal disease or condition that is chronic and progressive”.
He said Zuma’s condition had progressively deteriorated since 2018 and he was unable to perform the activities of daily living or self-care, and thus recommended medical parole as a result of “medical incapacity”.
But this was dismissed by the medical parole advisory board, which held the view that Zuma’s condition was under control and that he was stable enough to serve his sentence.
However, three days after the board decided against recommending medical parole for Zuma, Fraser decided to grant Zuma medical parole on September 5.
While the board acknowledged that Zuma suffered from multiple comorbidities, all conditions had been brought under control, stressing that he was “stable” and did not qualify for medical parole according to legislation.
With TimesLIVE
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