Former South African president Jacob Zuma to serve 15-month prison term after turning himself in

Jacob Zuma was president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. Credit: AP

Former South African president Jacob Zuma will serve a 15-month prison term after turning himself in to authorities minutes before the deadline for his arrest.

Mr Zuma left his Nkandla home on Wednesday evening in a convoy of vehicles after deciding to obey the order from the country’s highest court that he should serve a prison term for contempt of court.

“President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order. He is on his way to hand himself into a Correctional Services Facility in KZN (KwaZulu-Natal province),” said a tweet posted by the Zuma Foundation.

Soon after, the South African police confirmed that Mr Zuma was in their custody.

Political tensions have risen in KwaZulu-Natal province as a result of Mr Zuma’s conviction, sentence and pending arrest.

Hundreds of his supporters gathered at his home over the weekend and vowed to prevent his arrest.

Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt because he defied a court order for him to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his time as the country’s president, from 2009 to 2018.

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South Africa's ethics watchdog is investigating activities linked to Zuma Credit: Reuters

The Constitutional Court ordered that if Mr Zuma did not voluntarily hand himself over, the police should arrest the country’s former president by the end of the day.

In a last-minute plea to avoid going to prison, which they claimed would be a “prejudice to his life," Mr Zuma’s lawyers wrote to the acting chief justice requesting that his arrest be suspended until Friday, when a regional court is to rule on his application to postpone the arrest.

ANC protesters in support of Zuma march to parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday. Credit: AP

The top court met late on Wednesday, according to local reports, but apparently rejected Mr Zuma’s request.

On Tuesday, his lawyers were in the Pietermaritzburg High Court seeking to stop the minister of police from arresting him until the Constitutional Court rules on his application to have the sentence rescinded.

The regional court will rule on that application on Friday.