The national commissioner for correctional services, Makgothi Thobakgale, reached a decision regarding the reincarceration of former President Jacob Zuma.
Jacob Zuma, who had been sentenced to a 15-month prison term by the Constitutional Court, initially began his imprisonment in July 2021. However, after serving just two months behind bars, he was granted medical parole in September of the same year.
In July, the Constitutional Court upheld a prior ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeal, declaring Zuma’s medical parole unlawful and thereby placing the decision-making authority in the hands of Thobakgale.
According to Thobakgale, the correctional services department has obtained four legal viewpoints concerning the ramifications of the SCA decision, which determined that Zuma’s medical parole was unauthorised and necessitated his return to prison.
However, just two hours after handing himself over to Estcourt prison, Zuma is once again a free man. This is because President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to News24, approved the remission of non-violent offenders due to overcrowding.
The statement reads, ‘Unfortunately, the current occupancy rate is 143%, with the overcrowding rate at 43.06%. The recent loss of 3 024 beds at Kutama Sinthumule due to fire means that overcrowding will increase by 4%, raising the overcrowding rate to 47.06%, and in turn, the occupancy rate will increase by 147 per cent.’
‘This poses a direct threat to inmate health, security, and management, and it could lead to a surge in gangsterism. More importantly, it hampers the department’s ability to provide development and rehabilitation programmes.’
The statement further reveals that 9 488 prisoners will be released under this process; however, unlike Zuma, they have not received such a swift release, as Adriaan Basson highlights.
This begs the question as to why Ramaphosa would approve this ‘special remission’ process at the time of Zuma’s enquiry.
The full statement by Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services:
President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved the remission of non-violent offenders in South Africa. There are 212 286 inmates, including 9 351 foreign nationals, managed by the Department of Correctional Services across the country’s 243 correctional centres and 218 community centres.
Unfortunately, the current occupancy rate is 143%, with the overcrowding rate at 43.06%. The recent loss of 3 024 beds at Kutama Sinthumule due to fire means that overcrowding will increase by 4%, raising the overcrowding rate to 47.06%, and in turn, the occupancy rate will increase by 147 per cent.
This poses a direct threat to inmate health, security, and management, and it could lead to a surge in gangsterism. More importantly, it hampers the department’s ability to provide development and rehabilitation programmes.
The remission of sentences is a crucial aspect of our justice system, and Section 84 (2) (J) of the Constitution enables it. However, it’s important to note that certain offenders, such as those convicted of sexual offences, tampering with essential infrastructure, serving life sentences, and being declared dangerous criminals, are excluded from this criterion of this special remission. Despite this, low-risk offenders in these categories may still be eligible for a 12-month remission.
Offenders convicted of non-violent and nonsexual crimes will be eligible for up to 24 months of remission after completing the pre-release program and risk assessment and providing fingerprints and DNA samples for comparison to the South African Police Service database.
This decision will result in the deportation of 3064 foreign nationals serving short-term sentences under the guidance of the Department of Home Affairs.
Additionally, it will alleviate overcrowding in correctional centres by releasing approximately 9,488 inmates and a further 15 000 inmates who are currently under correctional supervision and parole. The majority of the beneficiaries of this decision are already serving parole or under correctional supervision in their communities.
The exercise of exploring special remission commenced on 24 April 2023 when we lost approximately 1 112 bed space due to delipidation in most of our centres.
To ensure that this decision is implemented effectively, a joint technical task team comprising Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster departments will oversee the process over ten months, with the Department of Home Affairs leading the aspect of foreign nationals. It’s important to note that victims will be allowed to make representations during the offenders’ considerations for placement.
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Picture: Twitter