Jacob Zuma court bid to stay out of jail to be opposed

Civil rights organisation AfriForum has announced that it will oppose former president Jacob Zuma’s appeal application in the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday.

“AfriForum’s legal team will on 21 December 2021 present reasons why Jacob Zuma’s attempt for leave of appeal against the Northern Gauteng High Court’s ruling that the decision to grant him medical parole was illegal, is simply a waste of the courts’ time,” AfriForum said in a statement on Monday 20 December.

Zuma’s legal team will appear in court on Tuesday to argue why they want to appeal against the verdict that would see Zuma back in prison.

“AfriForum’s legal team is of the opinion that Zuma’s appeal application does not have any reasonable chance to succeed,” the group said.

This comes after the Jacob Zuma’s foundation announced that his lawyers would argue his appeal in court against the ruling that he return to jail.  The High Court earlier ruled that Zuma must to go back to prison to serve out the remainder of his 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He was found guilty of contempt of court in the Constitutional Court in June.

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday found former president Jacob Zuma guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment.

Jacob Zuma ordered to pay punitive costs

The apex court also ordered that Zuma pay the legal costs spent by the State Capture Inquiry to bring the matter before the court. The court made the costs order on a punitive scale. 

Meanwhile, in a separate matter in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court, it emerged that Babita Deokaran’s alleged killers will spend Christmas behind bars after they were denied bail on Monday. 

Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla were denied bail after they failed to convince the court to release them. 

News24 reported that magistrate, Sipho Sibanyoni, told the  six suspects that they had failed “dismally” to prove exceptional circumstances in their bail application.