Former African President Zuma surrenders himself to police

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has handed himself over to police to serve a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. He has been admitted to the Estcourt Correctional Center in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The police had warned that they were ready to arrest him if he did not surrender himself by midnight.

Zuma, 79, was sentenced last week to prison for not participating in a corruption investigation.

The conviction sparked an unprecedented legal drama in South Africa, which had never before seen a former president go to prison.

Zuma initially declined to hand himself over, but in a brief statement on Wednesday, the Jacob Zuma Foundation said they have decided to comply with the law.
His daughter, Dudu Juma-Sambudla, later wrote on Twitter that her father was going to jail. He is still one of the high spirits for me.

Zuma was sentenced on June 29 for disobeying a directive to provide evidence in a corruption investigation into his nine years in power. He has testified only once in the investigation.

The businessmen have been accused of conspiring with politicians to influence the decision-making process while in office. But Zuma has repeatedly said that he has been the victim of a political conspiracy.

Although he was forced to step down in 2018 by his own party, the African National Congress, he has a loyal body of supporters, particularly in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The mob formed a human shield outside his house in an attempt to prevent Zuma’s arrest. A similar crowd had gathered before his surrender on Wednesday.