Former South African President Zuma, First Ever Detained

Police Voluntarily Appear as Arrest Deadline Nears
First Detention of Former South African President

Former South African President Jacob Zuma
[Photo by AP News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Former South African President Jacob Zuma, who was sentenced to 15 months for contempt of court and had resisted, has finally been detained.

According to the Associated Press on the 7th (local time), just before midnight, the deadline set by the Constitutional Court for the police to arrest Zuma, he left his private residence, boarded a police escort vehicle, appeared before the police, and was detained.

This is the first time in South Africa that a former president has been sentenced to prison and incarcerated.

The Zuma Foundation stated on Twitter, "Former President Zuma has decided to comply with the detention order. He is on his way to be detained at a correctional facility in KwaZulu-Natal Province."

South African police also confirmed that former President Zuma is currently in custody.

Zuma was detained about a week after the Constitutional Court sentenced him to 15 months for contempt of court on the 29th of last month.

During his tenure (2009?2018), Zuma was involved in widespread corruption allegations and was summoned to appear before the 'Anti-Corruption Commission,' but he firmly denied the charges and refused to appear.

Consequently, the Constitutional Court sentenced him to 15 months and ordered him to appear before the police by the 4th of this month. However, he also refused this and filed an urgent injunction to stop the arrest in court.

Zuma claimed that the sentence against him was a legacy of oppression under the old apartheid policy and argued that his detention had political motives.

The Constitutional Court ordered the police to arrest Zuma if he refused to appear and set the deadline as midnight on the 7th.

BBC reported that despite Zuma's resistance, a 'human barrier' of supporters was seen around his residence attempting to prevent his arrest.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.