Staff Reporter
South Africa’s highest court has sentenced former president Jacob Zuma for 15 months on contempt charges after he defied an order to appear before a corruption inquiry.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court ordered the 79-year-old veteran politician to hand himself in within five days.
If he fails to do so, police will arrest him and take him to a correctional centre.
Zuma was not in court when Judge Sisi Khampepe delivered the judgment.
The decision by the Constitutional Court to have the former president jailed came five months after the same court ordered him to appear before the corruption inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
But Zuma brazenly defied the court.
The inquiry is examining allegations of high-level graft during Zuma’s period in power.
Started in 2018, it came after a report detailing the extent of corruption in state-owned companies and government departments during his administration.
In its far-reaching mandate, the commission has interrogated more than 250 witnesses.
Zuma is the first to refuse to testify.
The veteran politician denies wrongdoing and has claimed Zondo is conducting a personal vendetta.
Not only did he fail to show up to testify before the inquiry, but he also ignored the court’s contempt proceedings.