South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma returned to prison, then released

Jacob Zuma was briefly admitted to prison in South Africa on Friday, before being released the same day on remission. The former president had faced the threat of going back inside since a top court struck down the decision to give him an early release on medical grounds in 2021.

Former South African president Jacob Zuma was accused of corruption but denied the charges. © Themba Hadebe / POOL / AFP

Zuma, 81, spent less than two hours at the Estcourt Correctional Centre outside Pietermaritzburg while his remission was processed.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2021 for contempt of court, after he refused to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office.

After just two months behind bars, he was released on medical parole after surgery for an unspecified health problem.

But that decision was contested in a series of legal battles.

In November 2022, an appeals court found it unlawful and ruled that Zuma should return to prison to finish his sentence.

South Africa's prison service, which had granted Zuma's conditional release, sought to overturn the ruling, but in July this year, the top Constitutional Court rejected its appeal.

Remission scheme

That left Zuma facing more than a year in prison.

However, on Friday he was released again under a remission scheme authorised by current President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zuma is one of more than 24,000 non-violent offenders who will be released through the process, which aims to ease overcrowding in prisons, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said.

The ex-president is now at home and consulting with his legal team, a spokesperson for Zuma's foundation said.

Zuma served as president from 2009 to 2018 before being forced out over corruption allegations.

His imprisonment in July 2021 sparked some of South Africa's worst violence since apartheid, with more than 350 people killed in riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Guateng provinces.

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(with newswires)