South African former President Jacob Zuma handed himself over to the police on Wednesday to begin serving a 15-month prison term, reported CGTN Africa. He made his way to a prison in his home province of Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN).
Police spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said in a statement that Zuma was in police custody. The court had ordered the police to arrest Zuma by the end of Wednesday if he failed to turn himself at a police station.
“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 (KwaZulu-Natal province),” said a tweet by the Zuma Foundation.
Zuma’s arrest comes after a week of tensions over his sentence. The court sentenced him to a 15-month jail term last week for defying an order earlier in February to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption during his presidential tenure. The inquiry commission is led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Zuma’s nine-year-long presidential tenure, which ended in 2018, was stained by corruption scandals and the taint of cronyism. Cyril Ramaphosa replaced him as the South African president in 2018.
The 79-year-old denies all the corruption charges. He claims that he is the victim of a political scandal and that the Zondo inquiry commission is biased against him. On Sunday, he lashed out at the judges and launched legal challenges to his arrest.
Zuma’s lawyers made an urgent request to the Constitutional Court late Wednesday to “direct the suspension of its orders… to prevent our client from being arrested prior to all legal processes being finalized”.
The former South African president’s application to stop his arrest was heard on Tuesday but the judgment was reserved until Friday.
He has also pleaded with the Constitutional Court to reconsider and rescind its jail order. The court will hear the appeal next Monday.
