All the attention will be at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Monday where the ruling pertaining to the release of former president Jacob Zuma on medical parole is expected to be heard.
Zuma was released on medical parole after he was hospitalised days after he had handed himself in, after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of being in contempt of court in July 2021. Zuma was expected to serve 15 months in jail.
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 the court ordered that Zuma has to go back to prison and serve the remainder of his sentence.
In a statement AfriForum said it was optimistic that the Supreme Court of Appeal will uphold the ruling made by the High Court in Pretoria that Zuma has to go and serve his term in jail, 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.
John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) said Roy Jankielsohn, the DA Free State provincial leader and Cilliers Brink, the DA spokesperson for co-operative governance and traditional affairs, would attend the hearing to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, and that Zuma is sent back to jail to serve his sentence for being in contempt of court.
Source: IOL, DFA, image from Twitter
