Pretoria, Dec 21 (Prensa Latina) The Gauteng Superior Court today granted permission to Jacob Zuma and the Department of Correctional Services to appeal a decision against him that would lead him back to jail.
In his ruling, Judge Elias Matojane affirmed that the case has sufficient merits to be ruled on by the Supreme Court of Appeals, in the city of Bloemfontein.
Another court, he argued, may find in the case that Zuma, due to his illness and age, can receive “compassion, empathy and humanity: the essence of Ubuntu.”
Ubuntu is a compact term from the Nguni languages of Zulu and Xhosa that means “a quality that includes the essential virtues of compassion and humanity.”
Likewise, Matojane added, there is a reasonable possibility that another court could also reverse the order that the time he spent on medical probation should not count toward serving his sentence of 15 months.
On the subject, prosecutor Ismail Jamie, from the opposition Democratic Alliance argued that Zuma was treated differently from any other inmate.
According to that attorney, there was no evidence that Zuma was physically incapacitated.
On June 29, the Johannesburg Constitutional Court found Zuma guilty of contempt for failing to appear in court after being summoned, and sentenced him to 15 months in prison.
Zuma had previously been summoned by the State Capture court to testify about alleged acts of corruption that occurred in the country during his term (2009-2018), a court order that he did not comply with.
Subsequently, on September 5, Zuma was released on medical parole.
The Correctional Services Act of 1998 gives the National Commissioner the responsibility of placing under correctional supervision or medical probation a person serving a sentence of imprisonment for 24 months or less.
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