Jacob Zuma hands himself to police to begin 15 months prison term

FORMER South African president Jacob Zuma left his home late on Wednesday night to turn himself in to authorities to serve a 15-month prison term, his foundation has confirmed.
Just minutes before the midnight deadline for police to arrest him, Zuma left his Nkandla home in a convoy of vehicles.
Zuma decided to hand himself over to authorities to obey the order from the country’s highest court that he should serve a prison term for contempt of court.
“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 posted by the Zuma Foundation.
Soon after, the South African police confirmed that Zuma was in their custody.
The Presidential Protection Services convoy assigned to former President #JacobZuma is seen leaving #Nkandla. The convoy sped off in the direction of Kranskop, avoiding police officers who were approaching the home from Eshowe. Video: @NewsBotZA #ZumaArrest #ZumaJudgment pic.twitter.com/1XFH3nzBvO
— IOL News (@IOL) July 7, 2021
Zuma’s decision to obey the Constitutional Court order comes after a week of rising tensions over his prison sentence.
Police have confirmed that Former President Jacob Zuma is in their custody as per Constitutional Court ruling relating to his contempt of court matter. #ZumaArrest pic.twitter.com/uTMjEEQRiz
— SABC News (@SABCNews) July 7, 2021
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt because he defied a court order for him to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his time as the country’s president, from 2009 to 2018.
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The Constitutional Court ordered that if Zuma did not voluntarily hand himself over to the police then the police should arrest the country’s former president by the end of the day.
In a last-minute plea to avoid going to prison, Zuma’s lawyers had written to the acting chief justice requesting that his arrest be suspended until Friday, when a regional court is to rule on his application to postpone the arrest.
Zuma’s lawyers asked the acting chief justice to issue directives stopping the police from arresting him, claiming there would be a “prejudice to his life.”
I DID MY BEST, WE DID OUR BEST COMRADES BUT THE OLD MAN MADE HIS CHOICE 🤷♂️I RESPECT HIS DECISION, BUT TO RAMAPHOSA & ZONDO THIS IS NOT OVER🤞YOU HAVE DECLARED A WAR & WE GONNA FIGHT THIS TILL THE END 😭 #ZumaArrest
— Edward Zuma (@Edwardy_Zuma) July 7, 2021
The top court met late on Wednesday, according to local reports, but apparently rejected Zuma’s request.
Zuma had also launched two court proceedings to avoid arrest after his sentence last week.
He applied at the Constitutional Court for his sentence to be rescinded and that application will be heard on July 12.
On Tuesday, his lawyers were in the Pietermaritzburg High Court seeking to stop the minister of police from arresting him until the Constitutional Court rules on his application to have the sentence rescinded. The regional court will rule on that application on Friday.
Political tensions have risen in KwaZulu-Natal province as a result of Zuma’s conviction, sentence and pending arrest.
Hundreds of his supporters gathered at his home over the weekend and vowed to prevent his arrest, but they left on Sunday. ■