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Zuma says he has not yet regained his freedom following last year’s arrest

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Former President Jacob Zuma says he has not yet regained his freedom following his arrest in July last year.

He was addressing the media for the first time since he was released from prison. Zuma was granted medical parole after serving three months behind bars.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court for refusing to continue testifying at the State Capture Commission.

He says his arrest and convictions were politically motivated.

“My imprisonment came as part of a long campaign aimed at removing me as president and punishing me for not being a darling of the commercial interest that seek to profit at the expense of our people.”

Earlier this month the Department of Correctional Services says released Zuma from its system.

In a statement, the department said, “Medical parole placement meant that Mr. Zuma was to serve the remainder of his sentence under Kranskop Community Corrections. Essentially, Mr Zuma complied with his conditions of medical parole as set out during his placement. All administrative processes have been concluded and the sentence expiry date marks the end of him serving his sentence under community corrections.”

Victim of State Capture Commission

Meanwhile, Zuma claims he was the victim of the State Capture Commission chairperson who is now Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo.

Zuma was heavily implicated in the testimony of numerous witnesses at the commission. Earlier this month, the Presidency received the amended version of the state capture report – which incorporated corrections made by Chief Justice Zondo.

The Presidency says those implicated in the report are well within their rights to take it on review but work has already started in processing its recommendations.

Zuma says that the commission was established to target him

“Zondo was himself continuously making statements that suggested that he had already concluded that I was guilty of everything that I was accused of.”

Rolling blackouts

The former President also stated at the media briefing that his government ended rolling blackouts in 2015.

Zuma maintains that his administration fixed Eskom.

“Loadshedding started immediately after certain agreements were concluded with Independent Power Producers. Why does the correct leadership fail to get handle the issues of Eskom.’

Former President Zuma’s media briefing on 22 October 2022:

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