The African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa said he has no regrets in granting his predecessor Jacob Zuma remission of sentence.
Zuma was granted “special remission” last year August, shortly after he reported to the Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, to complete his 15 months sentence, after he defied the Constitutional Court order to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.
Ramaphosa’s comments come a the “special remission” has now emerged as a legal tussle between the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and Zuma, as the IEC is arguing that Zuma isn’t eligible to contest a parliamentary seat for the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK).
“No, there’s no regret.
We took the decision as we decided that we should move in that direction.
The remission was a generalised remission, it was not specific to him.
So, when I took the decision, it was not specifically aimed at former President Jacob Zuma,” said Ramaphosa who was addressing the media in Cosmo City, during the ANC campaign trail.
He said the aim of the remissions, was to reduce overcrowding at the country’s prisons.
More than 16 000 prisoners were also granted remission, at the time it was granted to Zuma.
“It was a broad decision that affected many other people who needed a remission, and it has been done so that we could reduce the numbers of people in our prisons. Because their burgeoning at the seams, there are too many people in our prisons. So, I don’t regret that decision,” added Ramaphosa.
The President also lambasted those criticising the IEC and its integrity ahead of this year’s elections.
This follows remarks by Zuma that the IEC is interfering in party politics by approaching the Constitutional Court to appeal the judgment of the Electoral Court, that overruled the court’s decision to bar Zuma from contesting the polls.
In addition, the MK party has also called for the resignation of IEC Commissioner, Janet Love, whom they also accused of biased after she earlier this month announced the decision by the IEC to disqualify Zuma.
“No individual IEC consular should be pointed out as having done this or that. It is the entire IEC commission that has taken the decision.
“And the decision is based, as I heard it and understood it, on bringing clarity to the law, so that the Constitutional Court, which is the repository of the entity that should interpret our law, so that they interpret the law and give clarity once and for all, for all parties and for all times,” highlighted Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa emphasised that they’re proud of the work that has been done by the IEC over the years including now, that the entity is able to consider matters, very carefully and weigh up the various options.
He said he’s adamant that the IEC is apolitical.
“I don’t really buy this notion that the IEC is venturing into politics.
The IEC is inherently non-political, it is independent, and we must defend its independence,” said Ramaphosa.
