South African former president Jacob Zuma was released from jail on medical parole because of ill health, the Department of Correctional Services informed on Sunday, reported Reuters.
The 79-year-old Zuma was sentenced to 15 months behind bars after he was found guilty of contempt of court for failure to obey an order of the Constitutional Court that asked him to appear before the state capture inquiry commission.
Zuma’s sentence began at the Estcourt prison in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, which is located about 180km (110 miles) northwest of Durban.
The prison authorities allowed him to go out of the prison and attend his brother’s funeral at his Nkandla home. He was at the medical wing of the Estcourt prison for quite a few days before being shifted to an external hospital where he later underwent surgery.
The prison authorities said the decision to release the former South African president on medical parole was based on a medical report it received. The department added that all offenders are eligible to be placed on medical parole should it be seen fit.
“Medical parole placement for Mr. Zuma means that he will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, whereby he must comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until his sentence expires,” the department said in a statement.
The statement said that inmates who are suffering from an illness that severely limits their daily activity or self-care can also be considered for medical parole apart from those who are terminally ill and physically disabled.
Zuma’s jailing in July resulted in days of violent riots by his supporters in South Africa that killed over 300 people and looting and vandalism that is estimated to cost businesses in the billions of South African rand.
