S. African High Court upholds challenge to Zuma prison sentence Jacob Zuma News

South Africa’s top court has agreed to hear former President Jacob Zuma’s challenge to a 15-month sentence on charges of contempt.

The South African Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the challenge of former President Jacob Zuma to suspend his sentence of 15 months in prison on charges of contempt.

The constitutional court sentenced Zuma 15 months in prison on Tuesday because Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo failed to appear in a February-led corruption investigation.

The former president was given until the end of Sunday to surrender, after which police would be forced to arrest him. But the judge on Saturday allowed his request to be heard on July 12.

Al Jazeera correspondent Fahmida Miller, from Nkandla (South Africa), said that “instead of surrendering himself or being arrested in the coming days” Jacob Zuma will return or at least appear for the first time to defend himself in the Constitutional Court.

Miller said before the sentence the leader had several opportunities to express his concerns.

“He ignored her [the opportunities]Miller said. “And now it looks like he has to spend more than a day ready to talk to the Constitutional Court,” he added.

Zuma said the sentence was a “political statement of exemplary punishment.” He says he is the victim of a political witch hunt and that Zondo is his opposite.

In a motion to overturn a decision filed Friday, Zuma said going to jail “would be at greatest risk of death” as a result of the pandemic, which is nearly 80 years old and in a state of health.

Thousands of people in his favor, mostly members of the Umkhonto Wesizwe military wing of the African National Congress, have been camping outside his home in Kwa-Zulu Natal province for weeks.

On Saturday, hundreds of them walked near Zuma in their hometown of Nkandla.

“Zuma can spend 15 months … or 100 months. It won’t serve a day or a minute like that, “Edward Zuma’s son told Reuters at a news conference.” They had to kill me before they could get their hands on me. “

Zuma, though he did not speak to his supporters, believes he will address them on Sunday, wearing a black and gold tropical shirt as he walked through the crowd, but without a mask. He was cared for by men dressed in the traditional warriors of his Zulu nation, who wore leopard skins and spears with oval shield ox skins.

Tensions have erupted this week as members of the Umkhonto Wesizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) threatened to destabilize the country by promising to form a human shield around Zuma if the former leader was arrested.

Fearing an appearance, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said it had postponed its meeting of its top national executive committee this weekend.

A convoy of local provincial leaders, including KwaZulu Natal Mdumiseni ANC Secretary of Ntuli and Sihle Zikalala provincial prime minister, were spotted on the farm.

Ally Carl Niehaus Zuma told AFP that the former president met with spiritual leaders in his head on Saturday.