SANDF Medical Team Sent to Treat Jacob Zuma After Family Reportedly Rejects Pretoria Transfer Amid Fears of Political Tensions and Public Unrest

Former president Jacob Zuma remains under medical care at Netcare St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg after his family reportedly refused to have him airlifted to 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria.

Zuma, 84, was admitted to the private KwaZulu-Natal hospital early last week. A team of specialist doctors was sent to the province on Friday to assist with his treatment. The team includes medical specialists and a resuscitation expert and is operating under the care of the Surgeon-General of the South African National Defence Force.

The former president’s family is understood to have wanted him to remain in KwaZulu-Natal rather than be moved to Gauteng. Sources familiar with the situation said the family was concerned about transferring him because of his strained relationship with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.

Another source said Zuma could not be moved to 1 Military Hospital because “it was too risky” for his condition.

[do_widget id=super_rss_reader-3] –> –> The decision has placed his medical care outside the usual public expectations surrounding former presidents. Presidents, deputy presidents and their immediate families receive medical and healthcare services from the Surgeon-General through the South African Military Health Services.

However, unlike previous cases involving former presidents, neither the Presidency nor the family has provided a detailed public update about Zuma’s condition. Initial reports described him as critically ill, but by Friday afternoon his condition was being described by sources as stable.

The limited information has created uncertainty around his health and the role government is playing in communicating with the public. A source said the Zuma family was uncomfortable with the government taking the lead in releasing updates about the former president’s condition.

“The government didn’t want to go against the family’s wish for fear that if anything happened, they would be accused of killing him,” a source said.

Another source warned that the government was concerned about the possibility of unrest if Zuma were to die. The source claimed that the family could blame the government for his death, saying: “The family will say the government killed him.”

Those claims have not been confirmed by the Zuma family. Zuma’s eldest son, Edward, was approached for comment but did not respond to questions about his father’s condition.

Zuma remained at Netcare St Anne’s Hospital on Saturday under the care of the SANDF Surgeon-General and his medical team. The hospital is in Pietermaritzburg, where he has been receiving treatment since his admission on Wednesday.

Over several days, police officers from the Presidential Protection Services were seen in the first-floor parking area. A black BMW carrying a presidential seal was seen entering and leaving the hospital several times, while unmarked police vehicles were also observed at the facility.

The presence of the security detail reflects Zuma’s status as a former head of state, but it has also drawn attention because of the silence surrounding his condition. No official explanation has been given about the nature of the illness for which he is being treated.

Zuma’s political party, the MK Party, previously released a statement saying that he had gone to hospital for a routine check-up and had already been discharged. The statement was viewed by government officials as inaccurate and reckless, according to a source familiar with the situation.

“This has resulted in the government taking a backseat, unlike when former presidents Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk were sick, and communications were done through government,” the source said.

The source also said that if an official announcement about Zuma’s health were made, it would have to come from President Ramaphosa.

Both Ramaphosa and his deputy, Paul Mashatile, sent messages wishing Zuma a speedy recovery on Friday. It remains unclear whether the messages were delivered directly to Zuma or conveyed through members of his family and political circle.

Different approaches to former presidents’ health

The handling of Zuma’s hospitalisation differs from the government-led approach used when former president Nelson Mandela became seriously ill during the later years of his life.

During Mandela’s 2013 hospitalisation, the Presidency was the main source of official information about his health. The government provided regular updates through the Presidency and the Government Communication and Information System when he was described as being in a critical but stable condition.

Following criticism about a lack of transparency during Mandela’s 2011 hospitalisation, the government made the Presidency the sole authority for official health updates. Doctors were instructed to communicate through the Presidency and Mandela’s wife, Graça Machel.

Mandela was treated by a multidisciplinary panel that included experts from the South African Military Health Service, the public sector, academia and the private sector.

When Mandela was hospitalised in Pretoria in December 2012 for a recurring lung infection, security at 1 Military Hospital was visibly increased. The defence minister was seen speaking outside the facility, although the Presidency deliberately chose not to identify the hospital publicly in an effort to protect Mandela’s privacy.

After Mandela died on 5 December 2013, his remains were taken to 1 Military Hospital. The official state funeral factsheet said his body would be transported from the military hospital to Air Force Base Waterkloof.

The communication surrounding former president FW de Klerk’s medical treatment was managed differently. His foundation issued statements about his hospitalisations, including his admission in October 2018 for a lung condition and the announcement of his death from mesothelioma in November 2021.

Although the government did not handle De Klerk’s day-to-day medical updates, Ramaphosa issued a formal statement after his death, recognising his role in South Africa’s transition to democracy and offering condolences to his family.

The latest medical episode comes after the controversial decision to grant Zuma medical parole in 2021 while he was serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

In September 2021, then-national commissioner of Correctional Services Arthur Fraser granted Zuma medical parole. Fraser relied on a medical report and said medical parole could be considered when an inmate was terminally ill, physically incapacitated or suffering from an illness that severely limited daily activity or self-care.

However, the Medical Parole Advisory Board had concluded that Zuma suffered from “multiple comorbidities” but was not terminally ill and did not meet the required physical incapacity threshold. The board therefore did not recommend that he be released on medical parole.

Fraser publicly acknowledged that the board had not approved the application because Zuma was regarded as being in a “stable condition”. He nevertheless overruled its recommendation and granted parole.

On 15 December 2021, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria reviewed and set aside Fraser’s decision. The court replaced the decision with a rejection of Zuma’s medical parole application, ordered him to return to custody and ruled that the time he spent outside prison on medical parole would not count towards his sentence.

The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Zuma’s appeal on 21 November 2022. It held that when the Medical Parole Advisory Board makes a negative recommendation, the commissioner cannot lawfully grant medical parole.

The available court record did not establish a specific publicly disclosed diagnosis for Zuma’s current condition.

The current hospitalisation is not the first time reports about Zuma’s health have circulated publicly. In July 2025, social media and WhatsApp groups carried claims that he had become ill and had been rushed to a hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.

Magasela Mzobe, head of the MK Party presidency, denied those claims at the time.

“He has never been to hospital and he has never been sick.”

Zuma appeared at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on 11 July 2025 to support July unrest accused Bonginkosi Khanyile. He appeared healthy at the time but declined to answer journalists’ questions about his health.

His latest medical episode has therefore become a matter of public interest, not only because of his former position as president but also because of the continuing tension between his family, his political party and government authorities.

The dispute over whether he should be treated in KwaZulu-Natal or transferred to Pretoria has highlighted questions about the usual medical arrangements for former heads of state. It has also exposed the difficulty of providing public information when a former president’s family wants to control communication about his condition.

For now, Zuma remains at Netcare St Anne’s Hospital, where he is being treated by the SANDF Surgeon-General and the specialist team sent to KwaZulu-Natal. His family and the Presidency have not released a detailed update, and no specific diagnosis has been made public.

The government is expected to continue monitoring the situation while respecting the family’s wishes and Zuma’s medical privacy. Further information will depend on whether the family, the Presidency or the medical team decides to issue an official statement.

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