The Former President of South Africa; Jacob Zuma, has been released from prison on medical parole due to an undisclosed illness. According to a statement posted by the officials of the country’s correctional services department, they said Mr. Zuma’s parole had been “impelled by a medical report,” but it provided no details about the nature of his illness.

Mr. Zuma will serve the remainder of his 15-month sentence under supervision in the community corrections system, the department said, adding that he would be subjected to “supervision until his sentence expires.” But it gave no details about where exactly he would serve his parole.

Recall that since July, Zuma has been serving a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court after defying a summons to appear at an inquiry into corruption during his time in office.

The 79-year-old former president served as president from 2009 to 2018 and was once widely celebrated as a key figure in the country’s liberation movement. But his nine years in power were marred with allegations of high-level corruption, which he has repeatedly denied.

Zuma is accused of corruption involving three businessmen close to him — brothers Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh Gupta — and allowing them to influence government policy, including the hiring and firing of ministers to align with the family’s business interests.

John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s opposition party, said in a statement on Sunday that Mr. Zuma’s medical parole was “entirely unlawful” and made a “mockery” of the country’s correctional law.

“Jacob Zuma publicly refused to be examined by an independent medical professional, let alone a medical advisory board,” Mr. Steenhuisen said, adding that such an assessment was required under the law for a prisoner to be granted medical parole.