Sentenced to fifteen months in prison by the justice of his country, the former South African president Jacob Zuma was taken prisoner Wednesday evening just a few minutes before the deadline for the ultimatum set by the justice. The former head of state in office between 2009 and 2018 thus spent a first night in his new conditions.
“Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been taken into custody,” the Police Department said on Twitter. Shortly after the announcement of his decision to “comply with the order of incarceration”, made by the foundation that represents him. This is not “an admission of guilt”, according to the spokesman for the former president.
At 79, Jacob Zuma was sentenced on June 29, 2021 for contempt of justice after refusing to appear before an anti-corruption commission last February. He is accused of having multiplied the maneuvers to avoid having to explain himself, piling up appeals or asserting his right to silence, since the creation in 2018 of the commission responsible for investigating generalized corruption during his nine years in power.
