Nkandla - There was a hive of activity on Wednesday outside the Nkandla home of Michael Zuma, the late younger brother of former president Jacob Zuma who will be buried on Thursday afternoon.
Outside Michael’s home, near Zuma’s homestead in northern KwaZulu-Natal, people were moving in and out, an indication of bereavement and preparations for the burial.
The preparations coincided with a confirmation from the national Department of Correctional Services that Zuma had indeed applied to leave his Estcourt prison cell to attend the family funeral.
The department’s spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, said Zuma’s application was in line with the Correctional Services Act and was being processed by the relevant departmental authorities.
“We can confirm that the former president, Mr Jacob Zuma has applied for Compassionate Leave. It is being dealt with in terms of Section 44(1)(a) of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998," Nxumalo said on Wednesday.
Michael died a few days after his older brother handed himself over to authorities to begin serving his 15-month sentence for contempt of court. A senior family member, Khanya Zuma, said Michael was bedridden before he passed away, and his death was not related to the jailing.
A few kilometres from the Zuma houses there was a contingent of police officers patrolling the area. Some of the police officers placed a roadblock along the road connecting Eshowe to Nkandla, searching all cars going in the direction of the Zuma residence.
Political Bureau