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Jacob Zuma, the former President of South Africa, surrendered to police on Wednesday and will face up to 15 months in jail for contempt of court, the culmination of a long-running legal drama that was touted as a terrorist attempt after the law was enacted.
Police spokesperson Lirandzu Themba confirmed in a statement that Zuma, who was President from 2009 – 2018, was in police custody following a ruling by the Constitutional Court last week.
The court sentenced Zuma to 15 months in prison for refusing to comply with a law in February to testify during a nine-year investigation into his presidency. The inquiry was led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Police had said they would arrest Zuma at the end of Wednesday if he failed to go to the police. Hundreds of his aides, some of them armed with guns, spears and shields, gathered near their home in Nkandla, eastern South Africa, to try to arrest him.
But in the end, Zuma, 79, decided to go quietly.
A number of vehicles believed to have been carrying Zuma out of their house hurriedly about 40 minutes before it was time to surrender.
“Please note that (former) President Zuma has decided to comply with the prison term,” the tweet said, pointing out that it was the first time the Zuma camp had shown interest in working for a court.
“She is going to volunteer at the Correctional Services Facility in KZN,” he added, just minutes before the deadline.
It is a dramatic collapse of a former African National Congress veteran, who was arrested by a few South African rulers for allowing everyone to be equal before the law.
Zuma’s daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla posted a message on the internet saying “she is on a journey and is still happy”.
“He said he hoped they still had the same overalls from Robben Island … We pay tribute to dad!” He wrote on Twitter.
Zuma has denied any wrongdoing during his tenure and has written insulting remarks on Sunday, criticizing judges and making legal claims to arrest him.
His lawyers asked the Supreme Constitutional Court on Wednesday to suspend his order to the police to arrest him in the middle of the night, pending the outcome of his indictment.
Zuma was fired in 2018 and replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa after nine years of corruption and bribery.
Critics have dubbed him the “Teflon president” because he knows he avoids justice.
The Zondo Commission is investigating allegations that it allowed three Indian-born businessmen, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to seize government funds and attract vehicles to the government. He and the Gupta brothers, who fled to Dubai after Zuma’s refusal, denied any wrongdoing.
Zuma faces another $ 2bn arms deal in 1999 when he was vice-president. He denied the allegations. The former president says he is politically motivated and that Zondo is biased.
People gather outside Zuma’s home in Nkandla in eastern South Africa to show support for former president [Rogan Ward/Reuters]
Despite being well-known, the former President has a high profile among senior officials and ANC members.
Over the weekend, he told his followers that there would be a riot if the police “dared” to arrest him.
The first pastor was the ANC’s top lawmaker during the war against apartheid.
Despite the problems, the ANC said it would not interfere with the judiciary.
The party’s spokesman Pule Made told reporters earlier that “we respect the right to justice.”
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