Former South African President Jacob Zuma is expected to learn about his fate on whether he is going back to prison or not, the Correctional Services Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale is expected to make the announcement on Thursday.
The Constitutional Court refused to permit the department to appeal a ruling declaring the release unlawful.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirmed that it had received representations from relevant parties on the incarceration term for Zuma.
DCS national spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the next phase of the process would be for Thobakgale to consider every material received, including the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeals and prescripts within the space of Corrections.
“Commissioner Thobakgale is to make his decision on or before August 10, 2023, and it will be communicated publicly,” said Nxumalo.
Jacob Zuma was sentenced to a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. This after failing to appear before the State Capture Commission.
He served just two months of the sentence before being released on medical parole.
While many wait to find out Zuma’s fate, the country is still reeling from the effects of his initial arrest in July 2021.
The country was brought to its knees as massive protests, looting and attacks erupted in many parts of South Africa.
The 2021 unrest, also known as the July Unrest, was a wave of civil rioting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng that lasted from July 9-18 in 2021. It was described as the worst violence that the country had experienced since the end of apartheid.
At least 354 people had lost their lives in the unrest and about 5,500 people had been arrested in connection with the unrest.
Businesses and the economy were also still dealing with the aftermath of that destructive period.
Jacob Zuma recently returned to South Africa after undergoing weeks-long medical treatment in the Russian Federation.
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