PIC: Zuma’s ‘sick note’ emerges, provoking scorn and mockery online

As many an employer in South Africa knows by now, the affliction of having a “medical condition” has become the excuse of choice for employees putting in for sick leave with their doctor’s note.

However, those employees have not necessarily been trying to avoid accounting for their involvement in a multibillion-rand corruption case in the notorious 1990s arms deal.

On Tuesday, the Pietermaritzburg High Court issued a warrant of arrest following former president Jacob Zuma’s failure to appear in the arms deal, as he is claiming to be sick.

Zuma’s former financial adviser Schabir Shaik was famously released early on early medical parole while claiming to be on his death bed in 2009. He had earlier been convicted of corruption in the same arms deal in 2005, which saw Zuma being fired as deputy president. Zuma has never been found formally guilty though and has dodged his day in court for a decade and a half.

Shaik made a miraculous recovery following his release and is still alive and reportedly known for playing golf.

The warrant against Zuma was stayed until May 6, when the matter is set to resume. The court accepted that Zuma “may well be ill”, but further evidence on his condition is now required. The warrant is therefore not immediately executable, and is contingent on Zuma providing adequate clarity on his “medical condition”.

The NPA argued it never received a response from Zuma’s legal team after asking for more specifics about his illness. It also wants access to his medical records to validate his illness claims.

“We were informed that he would be attending to medical treatment abroad from 23 January till mid March 2020,” argued the NPA.

State Prosecutor Billy Downer said it was disappointing that Zuma was not in court for unclear medical reasons. Zuma’s lawyer Dan Mantsha claimed Zuma was genuinely sick, however.

Mantsha had submitted a sick note from a military hospital but Judge Dhaya Pillay questioned this, as the note had allegedly been altered. She asked Mantsha to help her understand it, but that was evidently unsuccessful.

Images started started circulating on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon claiming to be the actual sick note Zuma’s lawyers had provided to the court.

It has, however, not been verified as authentic, though many well-known commentators on Twitter have shared it and commented on it, noting some peculiarities, including what look like alterations on the “Date from” section and that the form is actually meant to be for a prescription, and is therefore not even a standard doctor’s note.

If it is in fact just a prescription form, as it appears to be, then it would be doubly senseless, since no one in the history of medicine has ever had a prescription for an unspecified “medical condition”.

Any pharmacist would simply throw such a document in the trash.

Zuma submitted to the Court a prescription letter for allergies as a sick note. pic.twitter.com/ZfOZvlbUoo

— Sentletse 🇷🇺🇿🇦 (@Sentletse) February 4, 2020

“Layman’s diagnosis: Medical condition” EXCUSE? At least ask WebMD and pick one Jacob. Or do you have ALL medical conditions?

— Haji Mohamed Dawjee (@Sage_Of_Absurd) February 4, 2020

The original date is correct what do you want? Is this a sicknote that they issue at 1 mil? If yes verify the Dr who issued it and stop blaming Zuma. That they altered the date at the bottom is irrelevant it says on top that consultation date 2020/01/06

— Boesman (@willymosibi) February 4, 2020

https://twitter.com/jeandre_lennox/status/1224715269077196800?s=20

https://twitter.com/crabby_old_bag/status/1224688022739922944?s=20

(Compiled by Charles Cilliers)

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