The former president has been serving a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court after ignoring a Constitutional Court directive to appear before the State Capture Commission.
Supporters of former president Zuma have welcomed the announcement by the Correctional Services to release him on parole after spending almost two months in prison.
Former Spokesperson of uMkhonto wesizwe Military Veterans Association, Carl Niehaus, who is suspended from the ANC says Zuma should not have been arrested in the first place.
“His arrests was illegal. It was abused by the Constitutional Court and his release is conditional. It should have been a total unconditional release, not a parole, but we are nonetheless grateful that president Zuma will be able to go back home and to his family and we hope that a lesson has been learned by the Constitutional Court to allow itself to be abused for factional political purposes.”
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has also commended the Department of Correctional Services for releasing Zuma on parole.
Party Provincial Spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela says they have been engaging with their top leadership persuading for the release of the former president.
“It has been our plea now and then in a number of our engagements with a number of stakeholders including with the national officials that the matter is considered. And hopefully, all people of KZN will welcome the decision for Nxamalala. (He) deserves (to) rest as he is old enough.”
The Jacob Zuma Foundation has also described the decision as humane.
The Foundation Spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi says the former president is not well, and releasing him will help him to recover from home.
“It just indicates humanness in the system. So, we are very happy that president Zuma will be able to recover at home. He is still not well, but at least he will recover at the comfort of his home as it were, so we welcome this development.”
Last month, Zuma’s fraud and corruption case was postponed as he could not be in court after he was admitted at the military hospital.
Former President Jacob Zuma placed on medical parole:
