SOUTH AFRICA:Former African National Congress (ANC) chief whip and convicted fraudster Tony Yengeni walked free from prison yesterday after serving little over four months of a four-year sentence for corruption.
Condemning the early release, opposition parties said the decision showed there was one law for ANC activists, and another for the South African public.
Not only was Mr Yengeni's prison term dramatically shortened but he enjoyed special privileges while in jail and was photographed during one supervised outing partying and drinking beer - seemingly in breach of parole conditions.
Walking out of Malmesbury prison near Cape Town yesterday, the former chief whip reasserted his long-held belief that he should not have been jailed for lying to parliament about a discount he received on a luxury car.
"It is a great day for me and my family and for the movement in that I'm now walking out of the gate of this prison, a place that I was not supposed to be in the first place," Mr Yengeni said to a warm reception from family and friends. A number of prominent ANC politicians from Western Cape also celebrated the release, presenting the convicted fraudster with a spear, which they said symbolised bravery and cleansing of the past.
James Selfe, the Democratic Alliance spokesman on correctional services, said his party was seeking an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the early release, as well as into Mr Yengeni's apparent preferential treatment while in jail.
The politician was moved to a bed in the hospital wing after complaining of hay fever. He also received frequent visits from his wife, and on a period of temporary release reportedly missed his appointed deadline for return by several hours.
"It is quite clear Yengeni is not remotely remorseful. The sentence of the court has been completely ineffective in his case," said Mr Selfe.
"He has not been rehabilitated. He does not think he has done anything wrong. He regards the whole thing as a joke - which, in fact, it is. It is a farce.
"What it says to the public of South Africa is that there is one law for politically well-connected people and there is another law for the ordinary person on the street." The ruling ANC has been hit by a series of recent sleaze allegations, many of which have prompted claims of preferential treatment within the criminal justice system.
In one case, 330 mainly ANC parliamentarians were accused of defrauding parliament of 36 million rand (€3.9 million) but only 23 were prosecuted and none had to surrender his or her seat. A number of other ANC figures have been implicated in drink-driving instances - without any apparent consequences.
These include Johannesburg chief of police Robert McBride, who allegedly fled an accident scene three weeks ago. The former ANC guerilla, who claims to be a grandson of the 1916 rebel Maj John MacBride, was said to have been shepherded from an area by police colleagues before he had a chance to be tested for alcohol consumption.
Another prominent ANC figure was accused of crashing his car while drunk last November. A witness said the former commissioner of correctional services Linda Mti was so drunk that he fell to the ground and slept until the police arrived.