Former South African President, Jacob Zuma has finally handed himself over to the police and he set to begin his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court.
The move ended days of intense speculation over whether the police and former President would comply with the country’s Constitutional Court for Zuma’s arrest and imprisonment.
Zuma, who served as South Africa’s President from 2009 to 2018, had been given until July 4th to hand himself over to police. If he failed to show, the police were given until the close of Wednesday to arrest the 79-year-old and bring him in.
It is worth noting that before his arrest, Jacob Zuma had initially refused to hand himself over.
After Zuma refused to hand himself in on Sunday, as initially ordered by the country’s highest court, his lawyers filed two bids to the courts to delay the execution of the arrest, and his supporters rallied outside his Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal vowing to prevent police from accessing the former leader. The SAPS was given until Wednesday to arrest him.
However, in a short statement on Wednesday, the Jacob Zuma Foundation said “Please be advised that President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order. He is on his way to hand himself into a Correctional Services Facility in KZN”.
His daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, also wrote on Twitter that her father was “enroute [to the jail] and he is still in high spirits”.
Just before the clock wound down on the midnight deadline, Zuma was admitted to the Estcourt Correctional Center near his home in KwaZulu-Natal province, according to the Department of Correctional Services.
The Police Ministry spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba in a statement noted that, “Former President of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma was on July 7th, 2021, placed in the custody of the South African Police Service, in compliance with the Constitutional Court judgment”.
Why Jacob Zuma was arrested
Zuma was found guilty of contempt of court and handed a 15-month jail term on June 29th, a landmark moves in the country’s long-running corruption saga.
The order stemmed from Zuma’s refusal to appear at an anti-corruption commission to answer questions about his alleged involvement in corruption during his time as president.
That notwithstanding, Zuma has repeatedly denied the long-running allegations of corruption against him.
It is a highly symbolic moment that the former President and key figure of the African National Congress (ANC), who spent ten years in prison with anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela, could spend significant time in prison.
Meanwhile, several people who are obviously Jacob Zuma’s sympathizers have speculated that his incarceration, could be short-lived.
However, Acting Chief Justice, Sisi Khampepe has said of this case that “the rule of law and the administration of justice will prevail”.
On Friday, a High Court judge will rule whether police should have waited to bring him in until after a Constitutional Court hearing, due to take place on July 12, where his lawyers will argue mitigating circumstances in his sentence.
Read also: Haiti First lady dead hours after President’s assassination
