Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told journalists outside Estcourt Correctional Centre, where Zuma is being held, that the former leader would be eligible for parole in four months. Zuma had initially indicated he saw his sentence as biased and illegitimate and his move on Wednesday was seen as a victory for the post-Apartheid state’s efforts to enforce the rule of law. The constitutional court ordered Zuma jailed last week for refusing to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption covering his period in power from 2009 to 2018. The jail order marked another chapter in the fall from grace of one of the leading lights of the governing African National Congress (ANC). Decades ago, Zuma was jailed by South Africa’s white minority rulers for his efforts to establish a state that would treat all citizens fairly. But he has faced corruption and sleaze allegations from before and during his time as president, alarming many of his former comrades and leading some to turn against him.
SOURCE: REUTERS
Former South African President could be Freed from Prison in 4 months
