National commissioner for correctional services Makgothi Thobakgale says former president Jacob Zuma reported to the Estcourt Correctional Centre on Friday morning, was processed there and then released on “remission” shortly thereafter.
Thobakgale added that Zuma was “never a free man” when he was released on medical parole, arguing that he was on “community corrections”.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail by the Constitutional Court in July 2021 for defying a court order to testify on state capture. But he was released on medical parole in September that year after serving only two months in jail.
In July 2023, the Constitutional Court upheld an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that Zuma’s medical parole was unlawful, placing his fate in the hands of Thobakgale.
Zuma has now been released on special remission due to overcrowding in SA’s prisons.
The DA and Helen Suzman Foundation have said that former correctional services commissioner Arthur Fraser has made a mockery of the judicial system by releasing Zuma from jail.
In a statement released shortly after the announcement, Thobakgale said: “Having studied the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal, submissions by interested parties, legal advice(s) and also guided by the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, as the national commissioner of the department of correctional services, I have exercised my discretion as per the SCA judgment, in making a decision whether or not to take into account the period served under Community Corrections by the former president, Mr Jacob Zuma.”
He added: “The Supreme Court of Appeal found that the national commissioner’s decision to place Mr Zuma on medical parole was unlawful and unconstitutional. This finding rendered everything done in terms of the said decision null and void. The SCA further stated that once its order in the appeal is handed down — Mr Zuma’s position as it was prior to his release on medical parole will be reinstated. It further stated that, in law, Mr Zuma has not finished serving his sentence, and that he must return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre to do so.
“The Constitutional Court decided to leave the said decision intact. Although the SCA and the high court both consider the decision of the then national commissioner as unlawful, Mr Zuma was not discharged (released), but he was placed under community corrections where he continued serving his sentence, under strict conditions. When Mr Zuma left from a medical hospital upon placement on medical parole, he was continuously under community corrections serving his sentence. He was never a free man with effect from July 8 2021.”
Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola announced a special remission for nonviolent offenders on Friday that has been approved by President Cyril Ramaphosa. A remission of sentences for low-risk offenders is a crucial aspect of SA’s justice system and is particularly relevant in the light of overcrowding in prisons, the minister said.
He confirmed the process for special remission started in April and would benefit 9,488 inmates. This is in addition to the 15,000 who are already under correctional supervision and on parole. Certain offenders, such as those convicted of sexual offences, tampering with essential infrastructure, serving life sentences and declared dangerous criminals, are excluded, Lamola said.
He was at pains to deny the special remission was “specific” to Zuma's case. “The national commissioner has taken a decision in terms of the SCA judgment that the former president must come back to the [prison], which is in compliance with the order. So in terms of the SCA, the national commissioner's decision was that the former president must come back into the facility to comply with the decision of the SCA.
“The president’s decision is to remit sentenced offenders across the country; it is not a specific decision about former president Zuma. It's about all offenders in the country,” he said. The department said category one offenders, including Zuma, would be the first to be processed on Friday and the process would be “staggered”. The department said it would release a final list of all offenders released with Zuma by the end of the day.
Update: August 11 2023
This story has been updated with new information.
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