DA, AfriForum & Helen Suzman Foundation welcome Zuma parole ruling

The Democratic Alliance (DA), Helen Suzman Foundation and AfriForum took the matter to court, claiming Fraser unlawfully exercised public power and undermined the Constitutional Court order in giving Zuma parole.

The DA’s John Steenhuisen believes the order is a victory for the rule of law.

“We obviously welcome the court’s decision it’s a case we feel is very important and I think the judgement is victory for the rule of law, and particularly the principle of equality before the law that says there is no one set of rules for the ANC and their connected cadres and another for South Africa but there is one sets of laws that must apply to all South Africans.”

Judge Keoagile Matojane ordered Zuma back into the custody of the Department of Correctional Services to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

“It’s not nice knowing someone has to go to jail, but the reality is that we need to have the principle of the rule of law and equality to the law if our democracy is going to sustain itself going forward,” says Steenhuisen.

Lobby group AfriForum says they are delighted with the ruling.

"The public has been concerned for some time that there are double standards in the South African legal system and that senior politicians or people with political connections are not treated the same as ordinary citizens or the rest of the public,” says the organisation’s Ernst Roets.

Meanwhile Anton van Dalsen legal counsellor at Helen Suzman Foundation says that it’s difficult to anticipate if the former president will appeal the court’s decision

“It’s difficult to speculate whether Zuma will appeal or not, we will have to see how that goes. The court order . . . is in accordance with what the Helen Suzman Foundation applied to court for, and we are happy that our application has been granted by the court.”

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