Correctional Services Commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale is expected to announce on Thursday, 10 August whether former president Jacob Zuma must return to prison to complete his sentence. Many in KwaZulu-Natal fear a repeat of the July 2021 unrest.

Members of the SAPS and SANDF have been deployed to KwaZulu-Natal and other potential hotspots around South Africa and are "ready for any eventuality" as the commissioner of Correctional Services is due to announce whether former president Jacob Zuma should return to prison to finish his 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

In July 2021, when Zuma was arrested at his home in Nkandla and imprisoned at the Estcourt Correctional Centre, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng erupted in an orgy of violence, looting and arson, which resulted in the deaths of more than 350 people and cost the economy more than R50-billion.

Several people were arrested - some are facing trial but the ringleaders are still at large.

After serving only two months of his 15-month sentence, Zuma was released by former Correctional Services chief Arthur Fraser. His decision was challenged by the Democratic Alliance and NGOs, and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled in November 2022 that Zuma's release was unlawful.

In its ruling, the SCA said: "Whether the time spent by Mr Zuma on unlawfully granted medical parole should be taken into account in determining the remaining period of his incarceration is not a...