DA Accuses DCS of Giving Jacob Zuma 'Special Treatment' for Compassionate Leave

DA Accuses DCS of Giving Jacob Zuma 'Special Treatment' for Compassionate Leave

  • The DA has stated that it believes that the Department of Correctional Services is treating former president Jacob Zuma differently
  • The news follows Zuma's attendance of his brother's funeral on Thursday after he was granted compassionate leave by the DCS
  • The opposition party also made mention of the contravention of lockdown Level 4 regulations in terms of funerals

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused the Department of Correctional Services of giving former president Jacob Zuma "favourable treatment" after he was granted compassionate leave to attend the funeral of his brother, Michael.

On Thursday, Zuma went to Nkandla to attend Michael's funeral after his application for compassionate leave was granted due to him being a 'low-risk inmate'. Michael passed away on 11 July after facing a long illness, this was just a few days after Zuma started serving his 15-month sentence.

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According to DA MP and shadow correctional services minister James Selfe stated that the compassionate leave was some sort of special treatment. Selfe explained that the decision to grant Zuma the leave is 'inconsistent' with prior determinations made by the DCS.

DA, Department of Correctional Services, Jacob Zuma, special treatment, compassionate leave, brother, funeral, Michael Zuma
The DA has accused the DCS of giving Jacob Zuma special treatment after he attended his brother's funeral. Image: Chesnot
Source: Getty Images

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TimeLIVE reported that Selfe said he has tried to apply for a number of inmates to be released to attend funerals, however, the department refused and stated that they did not have enough staff to ensure the inmate's safety.

Selfe added that the DCS also did not follow lockdown level 4 regulations about the attendance of funerals. He continued by saying that it appears that there are two types of law; one for the "rich and connected and another law for the rest of us."

According to the DA's website, the opposition party believes that Msholozi is being given special treatment. The matter was compared to when 783 charges of corruption, racketeering and money laundering against Zuma were dropped in 2009.

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The Jacob Zuma Foundation confirmed receipt of an affidavit from the State Attorney

Previously, Briefly News reported that on Thursday, the Jacob Zuma Foundation confirmed the receipt of a summons for Msholozi to pay R18.2 million for legal costs. In April, Zuma lost a Supreme Court of Appeal hearing and was ordered to fork over the cash.

The foundation confirmed on social media that they had received the affidavit from the State Attorney regarding the legal bills that built up during the former president's tenure as the head of the country.

According to the tweet shared by the foundation, the affidavit was received by Zuma's attorneys

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Source: Briefly News

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