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The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal welcomes the announcement by the Minister of Justice and  Correctional Services  Ronald Lamola on President Jacob Zuma.

We note that in complying  with the Supreme Court of Appeal judgment the department ensured that President Jacob Zuma returned to Escourt Correctional  Services. 

We pause to salute the department for meticulously following due processes in the management of this matter.

Critically,  we wish to pause and salute the President of the country His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa for doing what is in the best interest of the country by granting a special remision paving the way for the release of President Jacob Zuma.

As explained by Minister Lamola today, the decision of remission was taken by the President  informed by powers given to him by section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution, which provides that “The President is responsible for pardoning or reprieving offenders and remitting any fines, penalties or forfeitures.”

Critically, as previously explained by both the President and the Minister, the remission excludes those sentenced for violent, aggressive and sexual offences, as well as people declared dangerous criminals in terms of section 286A of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977.

We wish to express our revolutionary appreciation to the ANC structures and the people of this province for remaining calm over the past month.

 We thank them for heeding our call in terms of exercising restraint and for allowing leadership and those entrusted with a responsibility to manage this delicate matter to do so in line with the laws of the country.

On the 13th July 2023, we stated that because we are in a Constitutional Democracy, the Department of Correctional Services had to be allowed to study the judgement and ventilate its decision publicly.

We reminded the people of this province that the Department of Correctional Services, under a democratic government administered its system of correctional services based on the Freedom Charter.

We further pointed that the freedom loving South Africans of all racial groups, adopted among others, a clause in the charter that stipulated: “Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance.”

 We emphasized that the work of Correctional Services was based on this clause of the Freedom Charter.

We are happy that finally this matter which divided society has been put behind us.

We are alive to the reality that those opposed to the ANC and the enemy of the people of this country used this matter to divide the ANC and to cause social instability.

On this day we reiterate our commitment to rebuild the unity and renew the soul and fibre of the ANC, restoring it to its founding values of dedication to servicing our people with honesty and dignity, respect and humility.

Issued by the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal