{"id":19193,"date":"2021-06-29T05:20:45","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T09:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=19193"},"modified":"2021-06-29T09:05:53","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T13:05:53","slug":"south-africas-top-court-sentences-ex-president-jacob-zuma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/06\/29\/south-africas-top-court-sentences-ex-president-jacob-zuma\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa&#8217;s top court sentences ex-President Jacob Zuma"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">South Africa&#8217;s former President Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in jail by the country&#8217;s highest court.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He has been given five days to hand himself in to police. Failing that, the police minister must order his arrest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The sentence comes after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt for defying its order to appear at an inquiry into corruption while he was president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Zuma&#8217;s time in power, which ended in 2018, was dogged by graft allegations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Businessmen were accused of conspiring with politicians to influence the decision-making process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/live\/world-africa-47639452\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-africa-48980964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zuma, the Guptas, and the sale of South Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/resources\/idt-sh\/Trials_of_Jacob_Zuma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The trials of Jacob Zuma<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The former president made one appearance at the inquiry into what has become known as &#8220;state capture&#8221; but then refused to appear subsequently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The inquiry &#8211; headed by Justice Raymond Zondo &#8211; asked the Constitutional Court to intervene.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Acting Chief Justice Sisi Khampepe was damning in her ruling. Mr Zuma refused to come to the court to explain his actions, she said, and he &#8220;elected instead to make provocative, unmeritorious and vituperative statements that constituted a calculated effort to impugn the integrity of the judiciary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;I am left with no option but to commit Mr Zuma to imprisonment, with the hope that doing so sends an unequivocal message&#8230; the rule of law and the administration of justice prevails.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The former president was not in court to hear the majority ruling and has repeatedly declared that he was the victim of a giant political conspiracy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">In a separate legal matter, Mr Zuma pleaded not guilty last month in his corruption trial involving a $5bn (\u00a33bn) arms deal from the 1990s.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-ve3352-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">&#8216;Scathing judgement&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i89\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-md0xev-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-13t93ir-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-1drmwog-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/810B\/production\/_112953033__111166005_andrewharding_tr-nc.png 976w\" alt=\"Analysis box by Andrew Harding, Africa correspondent\" width=\"1536\" height=\"306.11957796014065\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">This was a scathing, and hugely significant judgement against Jacob Zuma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The Constitutional Court did not simply find him in contempt, but spelled out the many ways in which the former president had lied, sought to mislead the public, and ultimately tried to &#8220;destroy the rule of law&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The judges were clearly seeking to pre-empt the inevitable push back from Mr Zuma&#8217;s supporters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">They say that he is the victim of a vast political conspiracy, and wonder why a former anti-apartheid hero who spent a decade on Robben Island should be imprisoned, while key figures from South Africa&#8217;s old racist white minority government remain free.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But while there may be some protests against the court&#8217;s majority decision, many more South Africans are likely to welcome the judiciary&#8217;s firm stance after years in which it seemed the rule of law was being eroded by a culture of high-level impunity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The ruling will also have an impact within the governing ANC, and will strengthen the hand of President Cyril Ramaphosa while weakening those &#8211; often linked to Mr Zuma &#8211; who have also been implicated in the vast &#8220;state capture&#8221; corruption that Mr Ramaphosa has repeatedly vowed to expose and confront.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-africa-57650517\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">South Africa&#8217;s former President Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in jail by the country&#8217;s highest court. He has been given five days to hand himself in to police. Failing that, the police <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/06\/29\/south-africas-top-court-sentences-ex-president-jacob-zuma\/\" title=\"South Africa&#8217;s top court sentences ex-President Jacob Zuma\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,6],"tags":[5547,2895,948,6246,7876,977,6383],"class_list":{"0":"post-19193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-world","10":"tag-constitutional-court","11":"tag-contempt","12":"tag-corruption","13":"tag-jacob-zuma","14":"tag-justice-raymond-zondo","15":"tag-south-africa","16":"tag-state-capture-inquiry","17":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19193"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19195,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19193\/revisions\/19195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}