Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former president Jacob Zuma, who was imprisoned this week, for 15 months in Estcourt Correctional Centre, will have a different form of protection.
Gone are the days when Zuma will have his own security enjoyed by the former head of the state.
Yesterday, national police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, said they would not be providing bodyguards while Zuma is incarcerated.
“Since he was handed over to the Department of Correctional Services, his security is now the responsibility of DCS,” Naidoo said before referring questions to the prison authorities.
He also said the bodyguards that were assigned to provide VIP protection services to Zuma remained within the police services.
“They are still employed. They are not to lose their jobs,” Naidoo said.
He would not be drawn into commenting further on whether they would be redeployed to provide VIP services elsewhere.
“They are still employed. Their work is a matter that resides with the police,” Naidoo said, as he would not be drawn on what would happen when Zuma is released.
Briefing the media outside the Estcourt correctional facility, this week, Acting Chief Operations Commissioner Phiko Mbambo, said Zuma would not be getting preferential treatment within the facility.
“He will be treated like any offender in our facility. It is important to indicate that once a person is handed over to our facility, we take full responsibility as the department,” Mbambo said.
“So the security arrangements of the former president become the responsibility of the department, not that of SAPS protection services.
“We take care of the security arrangements of the (former) president of the Department of Correctional Services,” he said.
Mbambo explained that the department has its own emergency response team.
“We would be taking security arrangements for each and every inmate that is within our facility. When it comes to security arrangements, we take care of that,” he said.
“He is not going to have his security people here,” Mbambo said.
He insisted that since Zuma was in their care, they would take full responsibility including security arrangements.
“There won’t be any designated bodyguards for the (former) president. In this facility, as I indicated, the security arrangements are for the facility itself (and) for all inmates that are within this facility. So, I think it is clear now.”
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said the incarceration of Zuma and any inmate was administered in terms of the Correctional Services Act.
“There is no favouritism whether he is my enemy, a friend, brother, father, uncle, (a member) of my political faction or non-members. It is neither here nor there,” Lamola said.
Asked about Zuma’s possible trips to court in Pietermaritzburg High Court, Lamola said some of the remand cases were done through video conferencing from time to time.
“Because of the risk of inmates going to court, it will depend whether he makes arrangements for him to go to court in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, or whether, there is need or not, depending whether it is a trial or not.
“There are various assessments done, so during this period, we try to minimise as far as possible for our inmates not to move up and down, hence we use what we call remand video facility,” said Lamola.
Lamola said, because of the Covid-19 situation, they have maximised the use of the remand video facility to where an offender’s matter could be postponed without having to drive to court.”
Concerning whether Zuma be in a single or communal cell, the head of the Estcourt Correctional Centre, Mpumi Hadebe, said the former president will first be profiled and housed accordingly, based on his security risk.
“It depends on the security classification and he will go through the process and be put in a certain classification category and housed as such,” Hadebe said.
As for his other benefits, Zuma will have access to television and can make use of the public phones to make calls.
Visits are out of question due to Covid-19.
Political Bureau
