ANC urges South Africans to pray for former president Zuma

THE ANC has asked South Africans to pray for former president Jacob Zuma, wishing him a “speedy recovery” after he underwent a medical procedure on Saturday with further surgery schedule for this week.

“The African National Congress wishes its former president, who is also former president of the Republic of South Africa, comrade Jacob Zuma, a speedy recovery,” ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said in a statement.

“This follows confirmation by the department of correctional services that comrade Zuma underwent a surgical procedure on Saturday ... while other procedures have been scheduled for the coming days. The ANC urges its members and the people of South Africa to keep comrade Zuma in their thoughts and prayers during this time.”

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said Zuma remained in an undisclosed hospital outside the Estcourt Correctional Centre where he has been serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court since late July.

“Mr Zuma underwent a surgical procedure on Saturday ... with other procedures scheduled for the coming days. As a result, DCS is unable to predict a discharge date as our priority at this stage is for Mr Zuma to be afforded the best care possible,” it said in a statement.

“As inmates are placed in correctional centres involuntarily, the state has a total and inescapable responsibility and duty to care for them in a manner that does not violate or compromise their constitutional rights, which include access to health care.”

The department appealed to the public to refrain from speculating on Zuma’s health.

The former president was hospitalised on August 6 for what the DCS said at the time was a routine observation. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said as a past leader of the country, Zuma’s health care needs required the involvement of the South African Military Health Services.

The DCS has previously said everyone who is detained, including sentenced prisoners, has the right to conditions that are consistent with human dignity, including exercise and the provision, at state expense, of adequate accommodation, nutrition, reading material and medical treatment.

– African News Agency (ANA)