By Naadiya Adams
The National Commissioner of Correctional Services Arthur Fraser has come under fire for granting former President Jacob Zuma medical parole.
Tensions have been mounting since the announcement was made on Sunday, Fraser and his department need to answer questions and explain what prompted the move.
Zuma will now have the opportunity to complete his 15 jail month sentence from the comfort of his Nkandla home.
It has been just under two months since Zuma’s arrest sparked violent unrest and rioting through parts of the country, now that he has been found eligible for medical parole, its unclear how his corruption trial will be affected.
The Constitutional Court had found him guilty of contempt for failing to appear before a state capture commission.
Naturally, the African National Congress has welcomed the decision, wishing the former president a quick recovery.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa has also come out in support of Zuma, saying we need not question experts as his deteriorating health has been public knowledge for a while now.
“We can’t query it, especially when it has medical conditionals involved, because effectively he’ll still be under the watch of Correctional Services.”
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has come out guns blazing once again, along with the One South Africa Movement and Congress of the People (Cope), who say they want answers.
DA leader John Steenhuisen is in the process of submitting an application for the records of the parole board to establish how the decision was reached.
“It should also be noted this medical parole should be granted to Zuma by his former spy boss Arthur Fraser and they’re deeply implicated in the corruption of state security and accused of running an illegal parallel structure where he now continues to do Jacob Zuma’s bidding.”
Meanwhile, the Jacob Zuma Foundation has released a statement stating that Zuma’s medical condition would not be disclosed regardless of whether or not his condition is in doubt.
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