Former president Jacob Zuma. Picture: Masi Losi
THE SPOTLIGHT will be on the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Monday when the ruling pertaining to former president Jacob Zuma’s release on medical parole is expected to be heard.
Zuma was granted medical parole after he was hospitalised days after he handed himself in, in July 2021 after the Constitutional Court found him guilty for contempt of court and he was to serve 15 months in prison.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria reviewed and set aside Zuma’s initial successful application for parole in December 2021.
AfriForum was an applicant in the application and following this finding, Zuma was ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in custody.
In a statement, AfriForum said it was optimistic that the Supreme Court of Appeal would uphold the judgment of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in light of the decision that granting medical parole was irrational and illegal.
“The organisation believes in equality before the law and therefore former presidents, regardless of their political connections, should receive the same treatment as ordinary citizens,” said AfriForum.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said DA Free State provincial leader Roy Jankielsohn, and DA spokesperson for co-operative governance and traditional affairs Cilliers Brink would attend the hearing to ensure that the rule of law was upheld and that Zuma served his 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court in the lead-up to his corruption trial that will be in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on October 17.