The JGZ Foundation has refuted claims that former president Jacob Zuma travelled to Russia after the Concourt judgment.
While admitting that Zuma was unwell and currently receiving medical attention in Moscow, Russia, the foundation today said he was in Russia for health reasons and that he went there a week ago.
Today, a number of people speculated that Zuma travelled to Russia amid the ruling on his parole matter.
His foundation said the trip had nothing to do with that.
This comes on the back of the Constitutional Court dismissing a bid to overturn the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling on Zuma’s release on medical parole on Thursday.
“The foundation confirms that Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons, and he will be returning to the country once his doctors have completed their treatment. Although the trip was private, it was not a secret, as incorrectly suggested. Zuma and his team travelled on a commercial flight full of passengers,” foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said.
He added that the foundation wished its patron good health and a safe return home whenever the doctors released him.
The GOOD Party said it welcomed what it called the unequivocal message sent by the Constitutional Court that everyone is subject to the rule of law, and that no public officer, whether a member of the executive or a member of the public service, exercises personal powers that are not subject to the tests of legality and rationality.
GOOD Secretary-General and Member of Parliament Brett Herron said the decision-makers exercise a public power restricted by the law and by the tests of rationality and absence of bias, and this was also confirmed by the Constitutional Court in yesterday’s judgment on the suspension of the Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Herron said when former Director-General of Correctional Services, Arthur Fraser, granted Zuma medical parole, he exceeded the powers of his office, and the Constitutional Court has set that decision aside.
“This means that the former president was not eligible for medical parole, and his release from prison was unlawful. He is required to complete his sentence. This is not a decision that should be triumphantly exploited by political parties.”
Herron said the imprisonment of a former president who swore to uphold the laws of this land for contempt of court is a betrayal of the people of South Africa, and it demands a sober response.
He said two years ago when Zuma was found to be in contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, his incarceration sparked widespread arson, sabotage, looting and lawlessness.
Herron said Ramaphosa referred to it as an insurrection.
“Let history not repeat itself. The Minister of Police and the crime intelligence agencies must demonstrate that they have learnt from their under-preparedness of July 2021.
“But there is a duty on Zuma, as a loyal South African who had the privilege to serve in the highest office in the land, to publicly instruct his supporters to respect the rule of law – regardless of whether they feel the outcome is unfair or some sort of betrayal,” Herron said.