The Democratic Alliance contends that former Correctional Services Commissioner, Arthur Fraser, erred in judgment in believing that he was entitled to release former President Jacob Zuma on medical parole. This is contained in papers before the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.
The DA, the Helen Suzman Foundation, and AfriForum are challenging the decision to release Zuma on medical parole. The DA has argued that Fraser was not permitted to grant medical parole if the Medical Parole Board had recommended against it.
The party insists that Zuma is neither terminally ill nor physically incapacitated to serve time behind bars. He was handed a 15-month prison sentence by the Constitutional Court in June last year after he defied its order to appear before the State Capture Commission.
Former President Jacob Zuma and the Department of Correctional Services are challenging the High Court order which declared his release on medical parole irrational, unlawful and unconstitutional. The DA argues that medical parole has a limited purpose which is intended only for inmates who are likely to die or those who cannot care for themselves.
According to the party, Zuma did not meet such legal requirements. As a result, the DA further contends that there is no basis for the SCA to interfere with the High Court’s exercise of its remedial discretion.
The party says the Medical Parole Board was introduced in 2012 to constrain what it says were the relatively unfettered powers of the Commissioner of Correctional Services. The matter will be heard in the SCA on the 15th of next month.
