President Zuma cannot dodge jail by fleeing to Russia

14 July 2023

ActionSA believes that former President Jacob Zuma should not try and avoid accountability and returning to prison, as ruled by the Constitutional Court on Thursday, by fleeing South Africa to seek medical attention in Russia.

It is extremely suspicious that a day after the Constitutional Court ruled that President Zuma should return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre to complete his prison sentence, it emerged that he fled to Russia to seek medical attention.

President Zuma - who oversaw the biggest destruction of state entities during his presidency - has long used the same Stalingrad tactics, such as endless and vexatious interlocutory court action or seeking medical attention, to avoid answering questions at the State Capture inquiry or going to prison as ruled by the courts.

As a party which stands by the rule of law, ActionSA calls on the Constitutional Court ruling to be upheld, and that South African law enforcement take the necessary action to ensure that Zuma does not escape accountability.

It cannot be that President Zuma is treated differently than any other South African, by repeatedly frustrating our legal processes and undermining our Constitutional Democracy.

Our judicial system has become one of the last remaining independent bodies upholding South African law and no one should therefore be allowed to undermine it. ActionSA, therefore, believes that threats of violence due to our legal processes should be dealt with decisively.

ActionSA will continue to monitor events around President Zuma’s arrest to ensure that South African law is adhered to, and where necessary we will not hesitate to take additional action.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 14 July 2023