- According to Ronald Lamola, the justice minister, former South African president Jacob Zuma was released from prison as a result of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to commute the sentences of nonviolent offenders.
- In the most recent twist resulting from a contempt of court sentence, Zuma was told to report back to jail and showed up at a correctional facility in the eastern town of Estcourt at 6 am (04:00 GMT), according to the prison service.
- He was “accepted into the system” there, but was then released in just over an hour as part of a “remission procedure,” according to Makgothi Thobakgale, the national commissioner of correctional services.
- “After being admitted into the system, he went through administrative procedures… Then, Thobakgale said at a press conference in Pretoria, he was released.
- After declining to provide testimony before a commission looking into financial corruption and cronyism during his administration, Zuma, 81, received a 15-month sentence in June 2021. His term began in July 2021, sparking protests that turned into riots and looting that resulted in more than 350 fatalities—the worst violence to strike South Africa since the country’s democratization.