Zuma will not attend ceremony honouring him at Groot Marico heritage site

Former president Jacob Zuma will not attend a ceremony set to honour him at the  Groot Marico heritage site in North West next week. 

This is according to his namesake foundation, which said the ceremony was cancelled after it was not granted permission by the foundation. 

The ceremony, dubbed “Inauguration of Msholozi”, was set to take place on February 14 at the heritage site Zuma launched in 2017. 

According to a poster shared on social media, it was meant to honour Zuma for “nine years of leadership, selflessness and progress in service to the people as president of the nation”. 

“Dear all, it [is] requested that all those who want to organise anything involving [former] president Zuma must do so only after getting express permission to do so from the JGZ Foundation. Your co-operation is highly appreciated,” said the foundation.

The foundation said public events that give the impression Zuma will attend, when he is not, compromise his integrity. 

“Supporters of [former] president Zuma, please note Zuma is still a prisoner of the Constitutional Court and is out on medical parole. Public events that give the impression he will be attending, when he will not, compromise his integrity and are thus not desirable,” it said.

Last year, images of parolee Zuma spotted out and about at Sibaya Casino in Durban sparked a major debate online, with many questioning the condition of his undisclosed illness and parole.

Zuma was placed on medical parole after the department of correctional services received a medical report from the former president. 

The eyebrow-raising meeting came after Zuma told a crowd gathered outside his Nkandla homestead he could only speak to them via video because of “very strict parole conditions”.

Previously department of correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Zuma can only attend public events if he is granted permission to leave his Nkandla home by his monitoring official.

“Medical parole placement for Zuma means he will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, whereby he must comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until his sentence expires,” said Nxumalo.