South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month prison sentence. He was sentenced to imprisonment for contempt of court. The Guardian reports.
According to the newspaper, law enforcement services in South Africa had been instructed to arrest Zuma by the end of Wednesday if he failed to turn himself in. The former leader has voluntarily handed himself in to police.
He is serving sentence in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Jacob Zuma is the first president in South Africa’s history to be imprisoned.
Earlier, South Africa’s Constitutional Court sentenced former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months imprisonment after he failed to attend a corruption inquiry.
In May 2021, Zuma pleaded not guilty to corruption, extortion and fraud charges when concluding government contracts for the purchase of weapons in 1999. French arms company Thale was also involved in this case. The company’s lawyers said the firm was not involved in crimes.
Jacob Zuma is often involved in corruption scandals. He was first convicted of crimes in 2005. According to investigators, Zuma stole funds from the $ 5 billion arms deal in 1999.
