FORMER PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA JACOB ZUMA HANDS HIMSELF TO THE POLICE, BEGINS 15-MONTH JAIL TERM

Former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has begun his 15-month jail term for contempt, the country’s Minister of Justice has said.

Zuma, who has been in police detention since Wednesday night, turned himself into security operatives to begin his jail term for disobeying a court order to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption while he was in power from 2009 to 2018.

The former President will be held in isolation for 14 days in line with COVID-19 protocols, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said on  Thursday, outside Estcourt Correctional Centre, eastern South Africa, where Zuma was being held.

Zuma, 79, has already launched legal challenges against his sentence, asking the court to cancel it on a number of grounds, including that he has been unfairly treated and that he might catch and die from COVID-19 in jail.

South Africa’s Justice and Prison officials have said that the Former President would not get VIP treatment in Jail. They say he will wear orange overalls, which is the official uniform for sentenced inmates in South Africa.

Credit: EONS Intelligence