It remains to be seen whether former President Jacob Zuma will attend his arms deal corruption trial scheduled to be heard at the Pietermaritzburg high court on Tuesday as he is still in hospital.
“We are still awaiting a doctor’s report. Only that report
can conclusively answer the question,” said Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson
Mzwanele Manyi on Sunday.
The department of correctional services on Friday announced
that the 79-year-old former head of state was admitted to an outside hospital
for medical observation.
Zuma, who was sentenced last month to a 15-month jail term
for contempt of court, has been medically supervised by staff from the SA
Military Health Services since his admission at the Estcourt Correctional
Centre last month.
“A routine observation prompted that Mr Zuma be taken for
in-hospitalisation,” said spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo. On Sunday, Nxumalo
said the nation would be informed once Zuma has been discharged from the
hospital.
Jacob Zuma moved to outside hospital for “routine
observation”, says prison authority. The department of correctional services
said on Friday that former president Jacob Zuma has been admitted to an outside
hospital for medical . . .
Zuma’s brother, Khanya, told TimesLIVE this week that the
family was not overly worried about Zuma being hospitalised as he had “been
unwell since he was poisoned” in 2014.
The Sunday Times reported that in August 2014, during his
trip to the US, doctors established that Zuma had been poisoned. He travelled
to Russia to confirm the diagnosis and treatment.
“We are not overly concerned because they told us yesterday
that he would be going to see his regular doctor. He has really been unwell
since he was poisoned,” said Khanya.
This is the second time that Zuma has temporarily been
released from the prison since he began serving his sentence on July 8. Three
weeks ago, he joined his family for the funeral of his brother Michael, in
Nkandla, after he was granted compassionate leave.
Meanwhile, the police are reportedly on high alert in
KwaZulu-Natal ahead of the court case, which usually draws scores of Zuma’s
supporters.
There are also growing fears of a second wave of looting
and destruction in the province as the #FreeJacobZuma campaign plans fresh
peaceful action on Tuesday.
TimesLIVE reported this week that Carl Niehaus, a senior
member of the #FreeJacobZuma campaign and of the so-called Radical Economic
Transformation (RET) forces would be “embarking on several key programmes of
action” after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to act on the demands to
release Zuma.
Hawks mum as fears mount of second wave of looting and destruction
Despite fears of a suspected second wave of civil unrest, the Hawks have
refused to confirm or deny they are investigating reports about 26 people
According to a City Press report, national police
commissioner Khehla Sitole has extended the deployment of police to
KwaZulu-Natal ahead of Zuma’s court appearance to deal with potential protests
ahead of Zuma’s case on Tuesday.
The approval of the extension reportedly comes after a
request by the National Joint Operation and Intelligence Structure.
The security cluster came under fire after unprecedented
civil unrest and looting which cost the country billions of rand and led to the
death of more than 300 people. The cluster was caught napping during the failed
insurrection which led to Ramaphosa’s reconfiguration of his cabinet to ensure
that the incident never happens again.
However, SA Police Union’s Lesiba Thobakgale said: “We are
not aware of whether there will be unrest this coming week when the former
president appears in court as it is an operational matter of which SAPS
management will be in a better position to shed light on the matter.” —
Timeslive
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