Officials have decided not to send former South African President Jacob Zuma back to jail in order to reduce overcrowding.
Zuma turned himself in to the police on Friday after receiving a 15-month prison term for contempt of court.
He had previously been released on medical parole, which the courts had deemed to be unlawful.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said he had been given remission to address overcrowding in prisons.
By releasing low-risk offenders, the process seeks to lessen systemic stress.
Zuma reported on Friday morning to the Estcourt Correctional Facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, according to South Africa’s Commissioner of Prisons Makgothi Thobakgale, and was “admitted” into the system before being released an hour later.
President Cyril Ramaphosa granted the remission status to more than 9,000 low-risk inmates.
He claims that this “remission process” began in April.
More than 350 people died in riots and protests after Zuma was imprisoned in 2021.
After he declined to appear before a panel looking into financial fraud and cronyism committed during his presidency, he was sentenced.
But only two months into his sentence, he was released on medical parole.
Last November, an appeals court ruled that Zuma’s release had been illegally granted and ordered him back to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence. The constitutional court rejected a request to reverse this judgment last month.
Source-BBC
