Former president Jacob Zuma is releasing a book about his presidency. Picture: Twitter
The African National Congress (ANC) is yet to comment on the Gauteng Division of the high court overturning former President Jacob Zuma’s parole decision.
The party released a short statement saying that it would make comments in due cause, after the department of correctional services has made its pronouncement on the judgment.
“The African National Congress notes the judgement delivered today (Wednesday), 15 December 2021 by the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria on the medical parole placement of Former President, Comrade Jacob Zuma,” reads the statement.
“We further note that the judgment is receiving the attention of the Department of Correctional Service and will accordingly await their pronouncement on the matter.”
On Wednesday, Judge Keoagile Matojane overturned the decision by former correctional services commissioner Arthur Fraser to place Zuma on medical parole.
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Zuma’s legal team has delivered his application for leave to appeal the judgment.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation announced on Twitter that the former president wanted to appeal the high court’s judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein.
The foundation said Zuma was appealing the ruling “on the grounds that the judgment is clearly wrong and there are strong prospects that a higher court will come to a totally different conclusion”.
The judgment has since been welcomed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and it’s leader John Steenhuisen.
The high court sided with the DA, the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and AfriForum’s urgent legal bids to set aside Zuma’s medical parole taken on 5 September by Fraser.
The court found that Fraser’s decision to release Zuma from jail was unlawful and ordered the national commissioner of correctional services and Zuma to pay the costs of the medical parole challenge.
Steenhuisen praised the court’s ruling as a major victory for the rule of law and the principle of equality before the law.
He said the court demonstrated that it didn’t matter if one was a former president or an ordinary citizen, “the rules apply to everybody and that’s how it should be in a democracy”.
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“We are very glad that the court has agreed with our views that the granting of that medical parole was irregular and unlawful and has now set it aside.
“I think this is a major victory for principle for quality before the law because we all knew that Mr Fraser was doing a favour to Mr Zuma and it wasn’t based on any medical grounds or in law,” Steenhuisen said.
Steenhuisen was speaking during an interview with eNCA on the sidelines of the DA’s media briefing at the Sheraton Hotel in Tshwane on the party’s coalition agreements for municipalities.
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