Former South Africa president, Jacob Zuma released from prison. The South African government has announced that Jacob Zuma has been freed from prison after serving his whole term.
In a statement on Friday, the authorities emphasized that he had been freed from custody after serving only a portion of his sentence.
In response to his release, Zuma stated, “It’s a day of mixed feelings.” He linked his liberation to Nelson Mandela’s release from Robben Island prison in 1973, when they had both been imprisoned as political prisoners during the apartheid era.
The 80-year-old stated, “I am relieved to be free again, to roam around and do anything I want to do without constraints,” while expressing gratitude to his supporters for speaking out against what he called a “unjust and harsh detention.”
For his refusal to testify before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry investigating claims of State Capture when he was president from 2009 to 2018, Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison in July of last year.
Two months later, in September 2021, for an unspecified sickness, he was given medical parole.
After opposition parties questioned Zuma’s release, the High Court in Pretoria ruled that he had been wrongfully given medical parole and ordered his return to prison in December 2021.
