Former South African President Jacob Zuma surrendered to police on Wednesday to begin 15 months in jail for contempt of court, culminating in a lengthy legal drama seen as a test of the post-apartheid state’s ability to enforce the rule of law.
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Police spokesman Lirandzu Themba confirmed in a statement that Zuma was in police custody, in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court. The Department of Correctional Services said in a separate statement that Zuma was admitted to the Estcourt Correctional Center, approximately 175 km (108 miles) from his rural home in Nkandla in eastern South Africa. TV broadcast live images of his motorhome entering the facility.
The court gave Zuma a 15-month prison sentence last week for defying an instruction earlier in February to provide evidence in an investigation into corruption during his nine years in power until 2018. The investigation is led by assistant chief judge Raymond Zondo.
The police had been instructed to arrest Zuma at the end of Wednesday if he failed to show up at a police station. Hundreds of his followers, some of them armed with weapons, spears and shields, had gathered near his home to try to prevent his arrest. But in the end, the 79-year-old Zuma decided to keep quiet.
“President Zuma has decided to follow the prison order,” his foundation said, the first time Zuma’s camp had shown any willingness to cooperate with the court. It was a remarkable case for a revered veteran of the liberation from the African National Congress, who was imprisoned by South Africa’s white minority leaders for his part in its struggle to make everyone equal before the law.
Zuma denies that there was widespread corruption under his leadership and he took a defiant note on Sunday, cracking down on judges and initiating legal challenges for his arrest. His lawyers asked the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to suspend its decision to the police to arrest him at midnight pending the outcome of his challenge to a prison sentence. Zuma gave in to the press to stop and give in to current president Cyril Ramaphosa 2018. He has since faced investigations into allegations of corruption from his time as president and earlier.
The Zondo Commission is investigating allegations that he allowed three Native American businessmen, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to plunder state resources and traffic influence over government policies. He and the Gupta brothers, who fled to Dubai after Zuma was fired, deny any wrongdoing. Zuma is also facing a separate court case involving a $ 2 billion arms deal in 1999 when he was vice president. He denies the allegations.
The former president claims that he is the victim of a political witch hunt and that Zondo is biased against him.
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