Staff Writer
Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, was removed from office in 2018 due to allegations of corruption and is currently receiving medical attention in Moscow, according to his spokeswoman on Friday, the day after a court decision reiterating that he should be imprisoned.
The 81-year-old Mr. Zuma “went to Russia last week for health reasons and he will return to the country when his doctors have completed his treatment,” Mzwanele Manyi said in a statement.
In response to disclosures in the local news on Mr. Zuma’s travel, the spokeswoman asserts that it is “private, but not secret.” Mr. Zuma was still in Zimbabwe on July 7 when he was representing a group from Belarus at a conference on carbon credits.
On Thursday, South Africa’s top court rejected an appeal seeking that Mr. Zuma be spared and repeated that he must return to prison to complete a 15-month term for contempt.
The penal services stated that they will review this ruling and seek legal counsel before making a decision on this file, thus this decision shouldn’t take effect right away.
Because Mr. Zuma steadfastly refused to respond to a commission looking into corruption throughout his administration (2009–2018), he was condemned in June 2021. A few days after his arrest, riots broke out that lasted for several days and claimed more than 350 lives.
Despite not providing any additional information about his health, he had been granted parole after two months for medical reasons.
When he served as president, Mr. Zuma maintained tight connections with Moscow. Relations between South Africa and Russia more broadly go back to the time of apartheid, when the Kremlin supported the ANC in its struggle against the racist government.
He spent ten years on Robben Island prison alongside Nelson Mandela. Mr. Zuma was the ANC’s feared intelligence leader at the time of its exile. His middle name, Gedleyihlekisa, means “he who laughs while crushing his enemies” in Zulu.
