Former South African President Jacob Zuma Transferred to Hospital from Prison

Former South African President Jacob Zuma was on Friday taken to hospital from prison.

The Department of Correctional Services said Zuma, who was jailed for contempt of court last month, was taken to a hospital outside prison for “medical observation.”

“Everyone who is detained, including every sentenced prisoner, has the right to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity, including medical treatment,” the department said.

The department adde4d that Zuma’s healthcare needs required the involvement of the South African Military Health Service. Zuma’s hospitalization comes days before his scheduled appearance in court for a corruption trial on Tuesday.

Mzwanele Manyi, the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, said the medical examination would advise him on whether he was fit to attend court for an arms deal corruption trial.

In this case, he is accused of receiving kickbacks over a $2 billion arms deal from the 1990s. In May, he denied charges of corruption, fraud, and money laundering.

The 79-year-old is serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court at Estcourt prison in KwaZulu-Natal province. He was jailed for defying a Constitutional Court order requiring him to testify at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office.

Last month, Zuma asked the Constitutional Court to annul his jail sentence, citing an unspecified medical condition.