Former South African president Jacob Zuma was reportedly released from prison after incumbent South African president Cyril Ramaphosa approved a remission of non-violent offenders.
Zuma received a prison term of 15 months in July 2021 for his refusal to provide testimony before a panel tasked with investigating financial impropriety and nepotism that transpired during his presidency.
Following a mere two months, he was granted medical parole by the Department of Correctional Services.
While Zuma briefly returned to a correctional facility in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, he was promptly liberated a few hours later subsequent to Ramaphosa’s authorization of the non-violent offenders’ remission. Ramaphosa’s administration has elucidated that this measure was designed to ameliorate the stress on South Africa’s overcrowded prison system.
Opposition figures, namely Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen and ActionSA party leader Herman Mashaba, have decried Zuma’s early release. Steenhuisen affirmed that Ramaphosa’s administration “once again evaded upholding the principles of the rule of law and the constitution, opting instead for a manipulative and cynical maneuver to secure Jacob Zuma’s release.” Similarly, Mashaba contended that this decision “derides the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
Additionally, Nicole Fritz, the Executive Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation, surmised that South African authorities orchestrated a means to preclude Zuma’s return to a prison cell. Nevertheless, she acknowledged the exceptional nature of the case, noting that it “was an incredibly difficult and complex situation, and [she doesn’t] think many democracies handle accountability for former leaders well.”
Zuma, a senior member, within the ruling African National Congress, held the presidency of South Africa from 2009 – 2018 until his resignation was compelled by allegations of corruption. In a separate case that currently awaits adjudication, he has pleaded not guilty to a range of charges encompassing fraud, corruption, money laundering, and racketeering, relating to a weapons sale from the 1990s.
