Former president Jacob Zuma. File Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
Former President Jacob Zuma is in Russia where he is receiving medical treatment because he is not well.
Zuma left South Africa early this week for Moscow.
Mzwanele Manyi, the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, confirmed on Friday that Zuma was in Russia for medical treatment.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma should be sent back to prison.
The Department of Correctional Services said it would seek legal advice on the decision of the Constitutional Court.
Zuma was released from the Estcourt Correctional Centre after serving a few months.
The Constitutional Court had imposed a sentence of 15 months in jail for Zuma for contempt of court over his refusal to appear before the Zondo Commission on State Capture, but he was released on medical parole earlier.
KwaZulu-Natal violence monitor Mary de Haas said she did not know what other options were available for the department.
She said the decision of the Constitutional Court was final and that Zuma should not have been released.
“I cannot see how correctional services can do much about it, as I see there is mention by one lawyer about their regulations but regulations are informed by laws. So if an apex court orders a prison sentence I assume it cannot be appealed and converted to another type of sentencing,” said De Haas.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics