By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) is expected to hear an appeal against the release of former president Jacob Zuma from prison on medical parole.
The matter is set for the 15th of August in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein.
This comes after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted Zuma and the Department of Correctional Services leave to appeal the judgment.
The court ruled that the granting of medical parole to the former President was unlawful.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court after he breached its earlier order to abide by the state capture commission’s summons and appear before it.
He was later granted medical parole by his ally and then National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Arthur Fraser.
Attorneys acting for the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Helen Suzman Foundation wrote to Judge Mandisa Maya, the President of the SCA, saying the matter had to be fast-tracked or otherwise it would only be resolved after Zuma’s term of imprisonment.
However communication mishaps saw Judge Maya not receiving the e-mailed letters.
Zuma’s sentence will end in October 2022 and requests were made for the appeal matter to be heard in the court session starting in February and again in May.
Zuma handed himself in on July 7 to begin serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court after he did not participate in the state capture inquiry.
This triggered protests which led to looting and outrage over the hardship and inequality in the country.
Almost two months later Fraser granted Zuma medical parole but the DA, Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and AfriForum sought recourse wanting the parole decision urgently reviewed and set aside and also seeking that Zuma’s time on medical parole not be counted as time served.
Zuma and Fraser had opposed the applications. In December, Judge Keoagile Matojane of the North Gauteng high court ordered Zuma to return to jail, saying the granting of medical parole by Fraser was an unlawful intervention that undermined respect for South Africa’s courts, the rule of law, and the Constitution.
Zuma applied for leave to appeal which was granted by Judge Matojane later in December.