Free Jacob Zuma Campaign gives Ramaphosa 14 days to release him from prison

BY DIRAMAKINI REPORTER

The Free Jacob Zuma Campaign said that it was giving President Cyril Ramaphosa 14 days to release the former president.

Former president Jacob Zuma. (Photo by Foto24).

The campaign, led by the disbanded MKMVA spokesperson, Carl Niehaus, briefed the media on its demands on Friday.

Niehaus, who has been suspended by the African National Congress (ANC) after threatening that there would be instability if Zuma was arrested, was joined by Andile Lungisa, whose membership has been suspended for 18 months for assaulting a Democratic Alliance councillor.

The campaign wants Ramaphosa to release Zuma, even though he has no powers to do so, unless he grants him a pardon. However, Zuma is yet to apply for one.

The former president was sentenced to 15 months by the Constitutional Court for refusing to appear before the inquiry into state capture headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The Free Zuma Campaign said that while it condemned the violence that had swept through parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, they were unable to stop it while Zuma remained behind bars.

ANC member Phapano Phasha, who has been a staunch supporter of Zuma, read the statement by the campaign.

Despite Zuma being sentenced by the apex court, she claimed, without providing any evidence, that Zuma was jailed because he was pushing for radical economic transformation.

“Let us be crystal clear; we do not support violence. Our principled opposition against the long-time prosecution and now political imprisonment of President Zuma has always been peaceful and within the confines of the law. We have never called for lawlessness and violence.”

Zuma was in power between 2009 and 2018 and is accused of hollowing out state institutions, including state security, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and state-owned entities including South African Airways (SAA), Denel, Eskom and Transnet.

Phasha said that it was not true that Zuma or members of the campaign were not law-abiding citizens or that Zuma was corrupt. (ewn)