South Africa's Former President, Jacob Zuma, Sentenced To 15-Months

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has sentenced former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.

Zuma was found guilty by the country’s highest court after he defied its order to appear at a corruption inquiry centered on his time in power between 2009 and 2018.

The inquiry which was led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, is examining high-level corruption during Zuma’s time in office. Having denied any wrongdoing for long, the 79-year-old former president has stubbornly refused to cooperate, and failed to appear to testify before a judicial panel in February.

He has now been given five days to present himself to police in order to be arrested.

Zuma faces a litany of legal troubles, having also pleaded not guilty last month in a separate corruption trial focused on an arms deal in 1999 when he was deputy president. He has, however, continued to insist that all charges are the product of a political witch hunt.

Zuma was ousted in 2018 following internal discord among the ruling African National Congress (ANC), against a backdrop of public outrage over alleged corruption and mismanagement of state resources.

Justice Zondo's inquiry was established after a report called for an investigation into possible improper contact between senior members of Zuma’s former administration and three wealthy businessmen, all of whom have denied all allegations of wrongdoing. The wealthy businessmen, known as Gupta brothers, fled South Africa upon Zuma’s inquiry.

Zuma's successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has made concerted efforts to stamp out corruption within the government and his own ANC party, creating a rift between his supporters and Zuma loyalists. Economists broadly agree that the pilfering of state resources in recent decades has had a negative impact on the nation’s economy, state-owned enterprises and public services.

Indigo Ellis, associate director at strategic risk advisory firm Africa Matters, told the news on Tuesday that Zuma’s sentencing was “a boon for judicial independence in South Africa,” reinforcing the resilience of the judiciary.

“The constitutional court judges have acted decisively, fully aware of the ex-president’s ability to influence his supporters to disregard the rule of law. This sentence almost feels like a reprisal for his unbounded attacks on the judiciary since leaving office in 2018,” Ellis added.

According to her, Zuma will likely exhaust his legal options to avoid serving a custodial sentence, but added: “The wording of the judgment is crystal clear, it is unappealable, despite pleas from Zuma’s supporters. ... We are beginning to witness the green shoots of change international investors have been waiting for since the feted ‘Ramaphoria’ fever dissipated.”

The sentencing does not reduce the pressure on Ramaphosa, however, and Indigo Ellis suggests that it is likely to make his job harder by further deepening the discord in the ANC.