South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment by the highest court in the country.
He has been given five days to hand himself over to the police, failure to do that the Police Minister Bheki Cele must order his arrest.
The jail sentence comes after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt of court for defying its order to appear at an Inquiry into corruption whilst he was President.
Mr Zuma’s time in power which ended in 2018 was marred by graft allegations. Businessesman were accused of conspiring with politicians to influence the decision making process.
Zuma made appearances at what is now known as the State Capture but then refused to appear subsequently. The Commission headed by Justice Raymond Zondo asked the ConCourt to intervene.
Acting Justice Khampepe was damming in her ruling. Zuma refused to come to court to explain his actions. She said she was left with no option but to commit Mr Zuma to imprisonment with hope that doing so sends unequivocal message.
Zuma was not in court when the ruling was made. Zuma declared that he was a victim of a giant political conspiracy. Zuma was last imprisoned half a century ago for his role in South Africa’s liberation struggle.
Last month Mr Zuma pleaded not guilty in his corruption trial involving a $5 billion arms deal in the 1990s.
