South African Court Rejects Zuma's Request To Stay Arrest Over Court Contempt - Reports

South Africa's Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed former President Jacob Zuma's application to overturn a previous decision to sentence him to fifteen months in prison for contempt of court, national media reported on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2021) South Africa's Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed former President Jacob Zuma's application to overturn a previous decision to sentence him to fifteen months in prison for contempt of court, national media reported on Friday.

According to the Eyewitness news platform, Zuma has been at the Estcourt Correctional Centre in the KwaZulu-Natal province since Wednesday.

The prison sentence was delivered by the Constitutional Court on June 29 after the former president refused to appear at a corruption inquiry in February. The former leader filed an appeal asking the court to annul its decision.

Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said on Thursday that Zuma would be able to apply for parole after serving a quarter of his full term.

Zuma became the first president of South Africa to be arrested since it switched to democracy, and the first leader in the country's history to be jailed.

The 79-year-old former president is currently under investigation over corruption that allegedly flourished during his rule from 2009 to 2018. He was forced out of power in 2018 amid a sprawling corruption scandal.