Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, has been released from prison on grounds of ill health after serving less than two months of a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

Zuma has been incarcerated since July after he was found guilty of contempt of court for failure to comply with an order of the Constitutional Court to honour a summons to appear before the state capture commission.

The statement states they were compelled to do so based on a medical report received by the department.

The department said in a statement: “Medical parole placement for Mr Zuma means that he will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, whereby he must comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until his sentence expires.”

Last week, a trial of Zuma on corruption charges dating back to the 1990s was postponed once more because of the former president’s claims of ill health.

Zuma’s supporters say the anti-apartheid fighter is the victim of a witch-hunt orchestrated by political opponents.