South Africa: Today’s latest news and headlines, Thursday 16 December 2021

Are you keeping up with the latest news stories and headlines in South Africa? We’ve got the news you really need to know on Thursday 16 December 2021.

The high court in Pretoria has set aside the decision to release former president Jacob Zuma on medical parole, ordering him to go back to jail.
Hours after the court delivered its judgement on Zuma’s medical parole, the Department of Correctional Services said it believes that another court will come to a different conclusion.

“DCS is of the view that the court sadly misinterpreted the Correctional Services Act and erred in declaring the decision of the National Commissioner to place Zuma on Medical Parole to be unlawful and setting it aside,” said the department’s spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.

Meanwhile, the Jacob Zuma Foundation announced that Msholozi’s lawyers have applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) against the whole judgment.

TODAY’S LATEST NEWS IN SOUTH AFRICA, Thursday 16 December

Just in: Jacob Zuma ‘must GO BACK to jail’ – after medical parole scrapped

There’s some massive breaking news from the Gauteng High Court on Wednesday morning – and former President Jacob Zuma has been ordered to return to jail, after the decision to award him medical parole was rejected.

The courts have ruled that the initial decision, shrouded in controversy, was an ‘unlawful act’ that needed to be set aside. The ruling now declares that Zuma’s medical parole is null and void, and he must be incarcerated once more. The legal challenge, filed by the DA, has been a successful one.

On top of that, the Department of Correctional Services says the 79-year-old MUST serve the full length of his sentence, and the three months he’s spent out of prison DOES NOT count as time served.

The verdict is a stinging rebuke of the questionable process that led to Jacob Zuma walking free from prison. Msholozi, who was jailed after contravening the Commissions Act by refusing to attend the State Capture Commission, had initially been given a 15-month prison sentence back in July.

However, he barely spent a month behind bars before he was transferred to a prison hospital, and shortly afterwards, his former comrade Arthur Fraser pulled some strings to secure his release on medical parole.

Jacob Zuma LATEST: Correctional Services to challenge High Court ruling

The Department of Correctional Services is now also challenging the decision by the High Court in Pretoria to declare former president Jacob Zuma’s medical parole grant as unlawful.

The court reviewed and set aside a move by former Correctional Services’ Commissioner Arthur Fraser to have Zuma released from the Estcourt Correctional Facility in KwaZulu-Natal, where he had been serving a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. The Democratic Alliance (DA) was the first to approach the courts after Zuma was allowed to walk. Fraser opted not to take advice from the Medical Parole Advisory Board and decided to grant him parole anyway.

In his judgement, Judge Elias Matojane said Fraser had unlawfully mitigated the punishment imposed by the Constitutional Court, thereby rendering the Constitutional order ineffective.

‘We are worried’: SAHRC fear more KZN unrest after Zuma verdict

A worrying COVID-19 variant, Jacob Zuma heading back to jail, and fears about potential unrest in KZN. It feels like someone has turned the clock back to July of this year – but the SAHRC isn’t feeling too nostalgic.

That’s because top officials from the Human Rights Commission are fearful of what’s to follow, on a day where a controversial verdict was handed down by the Gauteng High Court. A judge has overturned a decision to grant Jacob Zuma’s medical parole, meaning the 79-year-old will have to go back to prison.

Both the Correctional Services Department and the Jacob Zuma Foundation say they will both appeal the decision. But sadly, the damage might already be done at this point – with the SAHRC on high alert.

Commission Chair Bongani Majola has confirmed that there’s activity on social media which have put the SAHRC on edge. According to the senior representative, there are already statements being made ‘that can cause problems’.

White Christmas? SAPS baffled as R20m of cocaine washes up on beach

This ‘snort-ical’ discovery has certainly left the authorities with their noses out of joint. On Wednesday, it was reported that cocaine worth roughly R20 million had washed up on a beach in Jeffrey’s Bay.

SAPS, who will be cutting it fine to sniff out the perpetrators before Christmas rolls around, have not made any arrests as of Wednesday afternoon. With no leads as of yet, the criminals who were transporting this consignment will have to keep their beaks clean while the heat is on.

• As reported by SowetanLive, a docket has been referred to the Hawks in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.

Hawks spokesperson Lt Col Philani Nkwalase went public with the news earlier today. He told the media that a group of dog walkers were the first to notice the bags stuffed full of cocaine, which were tied together using ropes.

Will SA’s Omicron rates surge at Christmas? It depends where you live…

Health Minister Joe Phaahla has shared some good news and some bad news with us all on Wednesday. As the festive holidays draw ever closer, South Africa is spending its second Christmas under a cloud of COVID-19 – and this latest Omicron variant is threatening to derail the seasonal chair.

Case rates for the new strain are starting to take off across South Africa, after making their presence felt in Gauteng. There’s a general consensus that those coming down with Omicron are experiencing mild symptoms.

However, this mutation is highly transmissible, and it’s behind a recent rise in hospitalisations too. Trying to get the balance right in terms of lockdown restrictions, where lives play-off against livelihoods, could prove rather difficult in the days to come – another family on Omicron is expected to take place ‘within days’.

Pics: Hidden drug lab found in Benoni house, four arrested

A drug lab has been found in Benoni before the Hawks arrested four suspects. The bust was made possible thanks to a tip-off on Tuesday.

The four arrested suspects were handcuffed by the Germiston Hawks serious organised crime investigation and K9 members.

According to the Hawks spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu, the officers found their target after gathering inside intelligence on illegal substance whispers around Lakefield, which then directed the cops to the Benoni drug lab.

A search and seizure warrant was then acquired before the suspects were confronted with an unexpected raid.

“On Tuesday police pounced on four suspects allegedly processing illegal drugs suspected to be Cat with an estimated value of R3m,” said Mulamu.

LATEST NEWS: WEATHER FORECAST, Thursday 16 December

Take a look at weather forecasts for all nine provinces here.

LIVE TRAFFIC UPDATES FOR CAPE TOWN, JOHANNESBURG AND DURBAN

Stay one step ahead of the traffic by viewing our live traffic updates here.

HOROSCOPE TODAY

Free daily horoscope, celeb gossip, and lucky numbers for Thursday 16 December.