(Bloomberg) —
A South African court ordered former President Jacob Zuma be returned to prison, after ruling that the medical parole he was granted in September was unlawful. The rand weakened.
The High Court in Pretoria ordered that Zuma, 79, “be returned to the custody of the Department of Correctional Services” to serve out the remainder of his 15-month sentence.
Zuma, who was convicted of contempt of court earlier this year, was granted medical parole after serving less than two months in jail. The Helen Suzman Foundation challenged the decision.
The jailing of Zuma in July was the catalyst for the worst civil unrest in South Africa since the country’s first non-racial elections in 1994. The violence left at least 354 people dead.
Zuma can appeal Wednesday’s ruling.
The rand traded 0.5% weaker at 16.1587 to the dollar by 10:37 a.m. in Johannesburg.
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