WATCH | DA celebrates Zuma court victory but says it's not gloating

DA leader John Steenhuisen has welcomed the decision by the high court in Pretoria, ordering former president Jacob Zuma to return to jail. 

Judge Elias Matojane ruled that Zuma's September release was unlawful, setting aside the decision to grant Zuma medical parole. 

Steenhuisen said the ruling set an important legal precedent. 

“It's never nice to gloat over somebody going to jail, and that wasn't the point of the litigation. The point was to get the precedent in place that nobody in South Africa is above the law and that the applies equally to all South Africans,” he said. 

He said the party had gone to court to have the medical parole decision overturned because “we felt at that time that this was a terrible precedent and that again, medical parole was being abused in South Africa to help a connected ANC cadre out of the trouble they were in”.

Steenhuisen also spoke to incoming Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse and Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga, who expressed excitement about the conclusion of coalition agreements in Gauteng municipalities.

“What it means is that the road to 2024 has begun. That road has begun with bringing the ANC below 50% at a municipal level. And it's going to end up in the 2024 election, where we'll do the same at a provincial level and also at a national level. And we're going to end up with a new government at the Union Buildings.”

Last month TimesLIVE spoke to Phalatse about her new role and plans for the city. Watch the video below:

TimesLIVE