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Numerous political parties have reacted to announcement by the department of correctional services (DCS) to grant former president Jacob Zuma special remission during a media briefing in Hatfield, Pretoria on Friday morning.
The department said that he was one of thousands of inmates who’d been granted such a remission in a bid to alleviate overcrowding in prisons.
Zuma was released from the Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal in September 2021 on medical parole.
DCS national commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale revealed that the former statesman reported back at the facility on Friday.
“He was in and out of prison, was processed, and then released via a ‘special remission’ process.”
The ANC has welcomed the decision and said the decision should not be read in a manner that projects the country as a failed state.
“We welcome the decision on the remission of sentence of Zuma along aside a number of offenders and are confident in the resilience and robustness of our judiciary and law enforcement agencies. We have no reason to doubt our judiciary, and there is no truth that there is a failed state,” said the ruling party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
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The Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen slammed the decision and said the government has whizzled out on standing up for the rule of law, the constitution and chosen a cynical manipulative move to set Jacob Zuma free.
“Surprisingly, he’s the beneficiary of a brand new policy that will see tens of thousand of prisoners released of so-called overcrowding. This is yet another example of how this government, and particularly our president who has once again showed the spinelessness walking out on the principles that we should hold dear in any democracy.
“This is a cynical manipulation of the justice system as well as the powers of government. It demonstrates, yet again, why it is so fundamentally important for us to replace this government with a new one next year.
Steenhuisen said this also sets as a terrible example for what is going to happen to those hundreds of ANC cadres whose names appear in the Zondo commission report and for whom criminal charges are expected to be implemented.
“Does this mean that if you got an ANC membership in your pocket, you’ve got a get out of jail free card,” he asked.
Meanwhile, ActionSA’s leader Herman Mashaba insists that Zuma’s release makes a mockery of the criminal justice system in South Africa by demonstrating once again that president Ramaphosa puts the ANC first and the country second.
“President Ramaphosa’s decision to release 9,488 criminals back into society, just to save ONE, former president Jacob Zuma, from serving another day in prison sends a message to society that the rule of law does not apply to those in power.
“The criminal and civil justice system relies on the principle of ensuring that there are consequences for unlawful acts. President Zuma knowingly and deliberately defied our Apex Court, and publicly demonstrated his disdain for the legal system.
Mashaba further said instead of affirming the supremacy of the rule of law in South Africa by ensuring that Zuma accounts for these actions, president Ramaphosa’s government has bent over backwards to allow him to evade the consequences of these actions.
“The rule of law has been consistently undermined by the ANC government. We will continue to fight to restore this cornerstone of our constitution, and ensure that the justice system is an effective deterrent to unlawfulness,” he concluded.
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