APA-Cape Town (South Africa) South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuizen has said that the Constitutional Court’s decision to send former president Jacob Zuma back to prison was a major victory that showed that “all are equal before the law.”
The apex court on Thursday ruled that Zuma must return to prison to serve the rest of his 15-month sentence after he served only two months for contempt when he declined to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (corruption) under his administration.
Steenhuizen said the ruling showed that same rules and regulations should apply to all regardless of position in society.
“It’s a major victory for the principle of equality before the law which was the foundational principle of the rule of law in South Africa,” Steenhuizen said.
He added: “It doesn’t matter if you’re a former president or an ordinary citizen. The same rules, regulations, and stipulations must apply to everybody equally.”
In its ruling, the court confirmed that the medical parole granted to Zuma to gain his freedom from prison in 2021 was indeed unlawful.
Riots broke out in July 2021 after Zuma was arrested and taken to prison, leaving over 300 people dead and billions of dollars in damaged property in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
NM/jn/APA