POLL | What do you think of the decisions that Chris Hani’s killer gets parole and Zuma must return to jail?

The judiciary came under the spotlight on Monday after two high-profile rulings were made.

On Monday morning the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed former president Jacob Zuma's appeal regarding his medical parole, ordering that he must return to prison in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal.

“Mr Zuma, in law, has not finished serving his sentence. He must return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre to do so,” said the SCA in its unanimous judgment on Monday. 

It did not state how long he should be incarcerated for, saying it was “a matter to be considered by the commissioner” of correctional services.

A few hours later, the Constitutional Court ordered that Chris Hani's killer Janusz Waluś be granted bail and released within 10 days.

Waluś is serving a life sentence for killing the SACP leader and anti-apartheid activist in April 1993. He had approached the ConCourt to set aside the SCA's decision to dismiss his leave to appeal against a high court judgment that upheld the refusal of his parole by justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola in March 2020. 

Some contrasted the two judgments and questioned why one high-profile figure was “being sent to jail while another gets out”. Others said they were separate matters with their own merits.

It also sparked a debate on whether the judiciary was fair in its rulings.

Legal expert Ulrich Roux told TimesLIVE that Zuma can still challenge the SCA ruling in the ConCourt.

He predicted the chances of a different verdict are “slim to none”.

Political analyst Prof Susan Booysen said while imprisoning Zuma may result in unrest, not holding him to account would set a dangerous precedent in dealing with corrupt officials.

Meanwhile, the EFF warned that instability may follow the ConCourt's ruling on Waluś.

The party rejected the ruling, saying it “undermined the sensitivities of our people” and disrespected those who had died fighting for South Africa's freedom. 

“The murderer of Chris Hani cannot be forgiven and must therefore remain in prison until death,” it added.

The EFF said it would “do everything humanly possible to refuse and reject the release”. It called on the government and the Hani family to apply for the judgment to be rescinded.

“We have been patient and tolerant with too many wrong and irrational decisions taken in the name of fake reconciliation, and now we cannot and will not tolerate this nonsense.”