With the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) having dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s appeal against a lower court’s ruling that his release on medical parole was irregular, it remains unclear whether he will go back to prison.

Zuma approached the SCA after AfriForum and other organisations had successfully challenged the Correctional Services Department’s decision to release him on medical parole.

The former president was released on medical parole in September after serving only two months of his 15-month sentence imposed by the Constitutional Court, which found him guilty for defying its order to appear before the Zondo Commission.

The lower court, which found that Zuma should not have been released on medical parole, ruled that the period which he spent on parole should not be considered when calculating the number of months he still has to serve behind bars.

The ruling

However, in its ruling delivered on Monday, the SCA said it was not the courts but the Correctional Services Department that should determine whether the period he served under correctional supervision should be considered.

While the SCA has ruled that Zuma should be sent back to prison, the ANC in KZN was quick to point out that the order was academic.

“The ANC is comforted by the fact that president Jacob Zuma is not required by law to return to prison and therefore remains free. This is good for stability in this province and the country,” ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said.

While AfriForum noted that the SCA set aside the lower court’s order that the period Zuma spent on parole should not be taken into account, the organisation said it is satisfied with the fact that the SCA upheld the ruling that Zuma’s release has been irregular.

“The Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling means that two courts have found that Zuma should never have received medical parole. The fact that Zuma did receive medical parole, even though he did not qualify for it, therefore points to prominent politicians receiving preferential treatment at correctional services,” the lobby group said in a statement.

In releasing Zuma, the Correctional Services Department head, Arthur Fraser, overruled a parole board’s decision that Zuma was fit to serve the entire 15-month sentence.

Following Zuma’s arrest in July, crowds looted businesses and damaged both private and public property.

The unrest, which was mainly in KZN and Gauteng, resulted in the death of more than 300 people and business losses to the tune of billions of rand.

Correctional Services Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo did not respond to written questions seeking to establish whether the department would send Zuma back to prison.