A South African court has ruled that the country’s former President Jacob Zuma should be returned to prison, saying his medical parole was “unlawful”. The time he has spent out of prison should not be counted in his 15-month sentence, the Pretoria court ruled. Zuma was released on 5 September for an undisclosed medical condition. He had been jailed for failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency. The 79-year-old handed himself in to police in July after a public stand-off, but his jailing, unprecedented for an ex-president, sparked violent protests and looting. More than 300 people, mostly in Zuma’s stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal province, died in the protests. The former leader had testified only once at the inquiry into what has become known as “state capture” – the allegation that government decisions were being taken on behalf of business interests through a corrupt relationship. Zuma is also facing a separate corruption and fraud trial related to a 2019 arms deal. Zuma has repeatedly said he is the victim of a political conspiracy.(BBC)…[+]