South Africa’s high court docket agrees to listen to Zuma problem

South Africa’s constitutional court docket has agreed to listen to former President Jacob Zuma’s problem to rescind an order sentencing him to jail for 15 months on contempt costs.

The constitutional court docket sentenced Zuma to 15 months in jail on Tuesday for failing to seem on the corruption inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February.

The former president was given till the tip of Sunday handy himself in, after which police could be obliged to arrest him. But the court docket agreed on Saturday to listen to his software on July 12.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent Fahmida Miller, reporting from Nkandla, South Africa, mentioned that as a substitute of “handing himself over by tomorrow or face arrest within the coming days … Jacob Zuma will return or a minimum of present up for the primary time on the Constitutional Court to defend himself.”

Miller mentioned that previous to the sentence the chief had completely different alternatives to voice his issues.

“He ignored [the opportunities],” Miller mentioned. “And now it appears only a day earlier than he’s supposed handy himself over he’s prepared to speak to the Constitutional Court,” she added.

Zuma has referred to as the sentence a “political assertion of exemplary punishment”. He has maintained he’s the sufferer of a political witch hunt and that Zondo is biased in opposition to him.

In his software to annul the choice submitted on Friday, Zuma mentioned going to jail “would put him on the highest danger of loss of life” from the pandemic as a result of he’s practically 80 and has a medical situation.

Thousands of his supporters, primarily members of the African National Congress’s Umkhonto Wesizwe army wing, have been camped exterior his residence in Kwa-Zulu Natal province for weeks.

On Saturday, a whole bunch of them marched alongside Zuma in his hometown of Nkandla.

“They can provide Zuma 15 months … or 100 months. He’s not going to serve even someday or one minute of that,” his son Edward Zuma informed the information company Reuters on the gathering. “They must kill me earlier than they put their arms on him.”

Zuma, who didn’t converse to his supporters however is anticipated to handle them on Sunday, wore a black and gold tropical shirt as he walked by way of the group, however no masks. He was guarded by males dressed as conventional warriors from his Zulu nation, carrying leopard skins and holding spears with oval ox-hide shields.

Tension has been effervescent this week as members of the Umkhonto Wesizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) threatened that the nation could be destabilised if the previous chief was apprehended, promising to kind a human defend round Zuma.

Fearing a showdown, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) mentioned it had postponed a scheduled assembly of its high National Executive Committee this weekend.

Numerous convoys of provincial native leaders, together with the ANC secretary in KwaZulu Natal Mdumiseni Ntuli and provincial premier Sihle Zikalala have been noticed on the homestead.

Zuma ally Carl Niehaus informed AFP that the previous president was in his homestead assembly non secular leaders on Saturday.

Source: Al Jazeera and information businesses

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