South Africa's Ex-President Jacob Zuma Awarded 15 Months In Prison For Contempt Of Court

Jacob Zuma was convicted of contempt court by South Africa's top court and sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was given 5 days to hand over himself to the police.

Jacob Zuma | Getty

Former South African President Jacob Zuma was accused of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months in prison on Tuesday. He was given 5 days to hand over himself to the police. But, as he was not present in the court for the ruling, orders for his arrest were issued.  

Jacob Zuma was sentenced to prison after a constitutional court found him guilty of its contempt. He was found guilty of defying a court order to appear at a corruption inquiry while he was president. Jacob Zuma was in power and his term ended in 2018. There were allegations of corruption against him.

Earlier, the prosecution said that in his tenure of nearly a decade, he took bribes more than 700 times. The trial in the corruption case began 25 years ago after some of his alleged crimes.

Zuma, who was president from 2009 to 2018, did not plead guilty to charges of corruption, fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

Zuma is also accused of taking bribes to secure an arms deal with the French company. South Africa signed a multi-billion dollar arms deal with the company in 1999. Zuma was the Vice President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005 and was removed from office amid allegations of corruption. Zuma was first implicated in corruption charges in 2005 but, charges against him were dropped several times amid political interference.