In a ruling that shocked the nation on Tuesday, former president Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in jail by the Constitutional Court after being found guilty of contempt of court.
Shortly after the ruling yesterday morning, Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma said her father is not bang for the mang, and tweeted: “Amandla! Just Spoke To My Father, @PresJGZuma Is In High Spirits And Has No Fear. We Have A Choice Between Serving Our Time In Jhb Or Nkandla… Of Course We Have Chosen To Be Close To Home. Lockdown Or No Lockdown We Will Escort You To Serve Your Time.”
Amandla! Just Spoke To My Father, @PresJGZuma Is In High Spirits And Has No Fear. We Have A Choice Between Serving Our Time In Jhb Or Nkandla…Of Course We Have Chosen To Be Close To Home. Lockdown Or No Lockdown We Will Escourt You To Serve Your Time. ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/Yrybea4Skt
— Dudu Zuma-Sambudla (@DZumaSambudla) June 29, 2021
In its scathing judgment read out by Justice Sisi Khampepe, the ConCourt said Zuma was unrepentant and that giving him a chance to appear before the Zondo commission was not going to work.
They found that Zuma was fully aware of the consequences of his actions and wilfully defied the court’s order to appear before Judge Raymond Zondo, who is investigating state capture.
Khampepe said there was “no sound basis” for Zuma to claim that he was being unfairly treated.
“The majority (of the ConCourt panel) finds itself with no choice but to find that this kind of incalcitrance cannot be tolerated,” Khampepe read.
She pointed out that Zuma’s case was exceptional because of his position as a former president as well as his criticism of the judiciary.
The ConCourt justices strongly condemned Zuma’s “outlandish statements” and found that the only reasonable sentence was an unsuspended sentence of 15 months imprisonment.
The ConCourt ruled that Zuma must hand himself over to police at either Nkandla Police Station or Johannesburg Central within five calendar days to start his sentence.
Following the ruling, the Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association said Zuma should defy the Constitutional Court and not hand himself to prison.
MKMVA president Kebby Maphatsoe said: “We are disappointed by the ruling and we don't encourage president Zuma to hand himself to court.”
Asked about their next course of action and whether they would reinforce their MK battalion guarding Zuma’s home in Nkandla, Maphatsoe said they were working on something and their plans would be unveiled later.
Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed law enforcement agencies would arrest Zuma if he did not hand himself over.
Cele made the comment when asked during a media briefing where he and other ministers serving in the National Coronavirus Command Council outlined measures to ensure compliance during the lockdown.
Cele said: “We are instructed by a court and when the court instructs law enforcement agencies, we have to act.”