Former South African president Jacob Zuma is now a free man after his prison sentence expired. Zuma had been sentenced for contempt of court. Last year, Zuma had received a 15-month sentence after he ignored instructions to participate in a corruption inquiry. The Constitutional Court had found him guilty of contempt for failing to appear before a commission investigating corruption accusations that tainted a president once best known for fighting apartheid.
Zuma was later driven out of his compound in a long convoy of cars and taken to the Estcourt Correctional Center, according to the corrections department. His arrest followed a week of tense brinkmanship in which Zuma and his allies railed against the high court’s decision.
Jacob Zuma
“It’s OFFICIAL. H.E President Zuma is now a FREE man,” the Jacob Zuma Foundation said in a tweet.
However, Zuma was before released on medical parole in September 2021 but later in December, the high court ordered him to return to jail. Nonetheless, his appeal had not been determined by the time his sentence expired.
Also read South Africa President Welcomes Zuma`s Medical Parole
“Mr Zuma complied with his conditions for medical parole as set out during his placement,” the Correctional Services department said in a statement.
“All administrative processes have now been concluded and the sentence expiry date marks the end of him serving his sentence under community corrections.”
