The highest court in South Africa dismissed an appeal on Thursday, upholding an earlier decision that former president Jacob Zuma must serve out the remainder of a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.
It was unclear right away if Zuma would be sent back to prison; prison officials had stated that they were reviewing the ruling and would consult with counsel.
After refusing to testify before a commission looking into financial corruption and cronyism during his presidency, Zuma was convicted in June 2021; however, he was released on medical parole just two months into his term. He began his sentence’s execution in early July.
The worst violence to strike the nation since the inception of democracy in South Africa was ignited by his imprisonment and resulted in riots that turned into looting and left more than 350 people dead.
He was hospitalized for an unidentified condition the following month before being given medical parole.
The now 81-year-old was sent back to the Estcourt Correctional Center in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal state in November of last year after an appeals court determined that the release had been improperly granted.
The ruling was appealed by the South African prison service, which had approved Zuma’s conditional parole, but the Constitutional Court rejected the request.
On Thursday, it declared that it had “no reasonable prospects of success” and ordered Zuma, an intervening petitioner, and the prison services to cover legal fees.
Zuma’s official release from the jail system was announced by the prison services in October of last year.
But in November, the appeals court labeled the decision as “premature.”
The jail system stated on Thursday that it was “studying the Constitutional Court Judgment for the review application in relation to the medical parole placement for the former President.”
They continued by saying they were “seeking legal advice and will comment further in due course.”
Mzwanele Manyi, Zuma’s spokesperson, directed inquiries for comment to the jail administration.
The Democratic Alliance, the largest opposition group in South Africa, hailed the most recent decision as a “victory for the rule of law.” “Zuma must now go back to jail!” the party wrote on Twitter.