This is petition serves as a call to the President of the Republic to exercise his powers Under section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, to grant a Presidential Pardon to the Former President, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma. This is a highly exceptional cases deserving of the President's consideration.

This follows a decision by the Constitutional Court which found former president Jacob Zuma guilty of being in contempt of court. In a ruling handed down on Tuesday (29 June), the constitutional court gave President Zuma a direct and unsuspended sentence of 15 months of imprisonment.

The contempt ruling followed what the court considered defiance of a court order to testify before the Zondo commission of inquiry, where he has been implicated in corrupt activities by a number of witnesses. The ruling sets a precedent as the Constitutional Court typically does not hand down punitive sentences – or order imprisonment.

While a minority judgement concurred with the finding that President Zuma was in contempt of court, there was not a consensus as to whether the former President should be summarily sent to prison. We call for the presidential pardon given these special circumstances surrounding the Former President's incarceration.