Former South African president Jacob Zuma avoids jail by availing of special remission status

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has avoided further jail time by availing of a government-approved special remission status that was brought into effect on the day he was to resume a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

Mr Zuma presented himself to the authorities at the Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal Province on Friday morning to complete his jail term, but was released two hours later.

Last month the constitutional court upheld a lower court ruling that a decision by former correctional services commissioner Arthur Fraser in 2021 to grant Mr Zuma medical parole just two months into his sentence was unlawful. This meant Mr Zuma had to return to prison.

[ South Africa ex-president Jacob Zuma sentenced to 15 months in prison ]

[ Former South African leader Jacob Zuma leaves prison due to ill-health ]

However, the court left it up to the correctional services to decide if the time the former president had spent on parole should count as time served towards his sentence.

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On Friday, South Africa’s justice minister Ronald Lamola said Mr Zuma was not being let off the hook, but was one of many who will benefit from a special remission of prison sentences for non-violent offenders that President Cyril Ramaphosa had recently approved.

According to Mr Lomala, more than 9,000 criminals would benefit from the new remission status, which was being introduced to ease overcrowding in the prison system. “This decision is aimed at alleviating the overcrowding in the prison services across the country,” Mr Lamola said, adding that “the president’s decision is to remit offenders across the country and not specifically Zuma”.

The former president’s jailing in July 2021 for refusing a court order to appear at a public sector corruption tribunal sparked a week of looting and riots in two provinces that left more than 350 people dead.

The constitutional court’s decision in July prompted South Africa’s government to deploy the army to patrol areas in four provinces amid concerns that more unrest would be triggered by Mr Zuma’s return to jail.

South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), called Mr Zuma’s release a new low in how the ruling African National Congress treats the country’s criminal justice system. The party called Mr Zuma’s release an “elaborate scheme” designed to let “a single man” out of prison.

[ South Africa court says Zuma should be returned to jail ]

“The fact the remission comes into effect today — the same day on which Zuma returns to prison to be ‘processed’ is a clear indication of what has really occurred,” said DA shadow minister of justice Glynnis Breytenbach.

However, Mr Zuma’s legal woes are far from over, as the 80-year-old still faces 16 corruption charges related to a 1999 government arms deal that will soon go to trial.

He is accused of taking bribes from a French arms company in return for protecting it from criminal investigations. Mr Zuma denies the charges against him.