Former South African President Zuma has been released on parole

JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 5 (Reuters) – Former South African President Jacob Zuma jailed has been released on parole for ill health, the government’s correctional services department said on Sunday.

Last month, prison authorities said Zuma, who was serving a 15-month sentence in Estcourt prison for judicial contempt, underwent unspecified surgery at an outside hospital where he had been sent for observation. He remained in the hospital with more planned operations. Read more

The 79-year-old’s eligibility for parole following a medical report received by the Department of Correctional Services, he said in a statement.

“The medical release on parole for Mr. Zuma means he will complete the rest of the sentence in the system of community corrections, for which he will have to meet a set of specific conditions and will be subject to supervision until his sentence expires.” , the department added.

His spokesman, Singabakho Nxumalo, said Zuma, who was jailed in early July, was still in hospital but could go home to continue receiving medical attention. He gave no details about Zuma’s illness, his parole conditions or whether his health had deteriorated since surgery.

Mzwanele Manyi, a spokesman for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, said he welcomed the decision of the parole board and that a more detailed statement would be issued after consultation with Zuma’s legal team.

Zuma was jailed for challenging a Constitutional Court order to testify in an investigation investigating high-level corruption during his nine-year term until 2018.

When Zuma surrendered on July 7, protests by his supporters turned into riots involving looting and arson that President Cyril Ramaphosa described as an “insurrection.”

Nqobile Dludla Reports; Edited by David Goodman and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

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