By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
The Constitutional Court has once again ordered former president Jacob Zuma to return to jail.
This comes after the court rejected an application by the Department of Correctional to appeal a previous court ruling that Zuma’s release on medical parole was unlawful.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court after he failed to appear before the State Capture Commission despite a court order to do so.
On Thursday the Constitutional Court dismissed the government’s appeal, saying it had “no reasonable prospects of success”.
The Court also said Zuma should return to prison. “He must return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre.”
But the judges left it to the Department of Correctional Services to decide whether the 13 months Zuma has spent on medical parole should count towards his sentence.
News24 reported on Friday that Zuma is in Russia receiving medical treatment, and it is unclear what happens next.
The Zuma ruling comes at a critical time, as KwaZulu-Natal is on high alert for a possible breakout of violence and looting.
Police intelligence suggests the ground is now fertile for round two of the 2021 July riots where thousands of pro-Zuma supporters looted and burned shopping malls.
Their anger was sparked by the arrest of Zuma but also driven by an attempt to sabotage the economy and undermine the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
At the time, the Ramaphosa government took too long to unleash the army on the protesters.
Already almost 20 trucks have been attacked and burned to ashes on the N3, the economic corridor connecting Durban with Johannesburg with more incidents on the Durban to Richards Bay corridor.
This time however the state security agencies say they are ready to deal with possible riots at short notice.
