By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Suspended African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule on Tuesday said supporters of former President Jacob Zuma must ‘soldier on’.
Taking to social media, Magashule said, “Be strong now because things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever. We soldier on.”
Zuma turned himself in to police on Wednesday to begin 15 months in jail for contempt of court, the culmination of a long legal drama seen as a test of the post-apartheid state’s ability to enforce the rule of law.
Police had been instructed to arrest Zuma by the end of Wednesday if he failed to appear at a police station. Hundreds of his supporters, some of them armed with guns, spears and shields, had gathered nearby at his homestead to try to prevent his arrest.
But in the end, the 79-year-old Zuma decided to go quietly.”President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order,” his foundation said, the first time Zuma’s camp had shown any willingness to cooperate with the court.
It was a remarkable fall for a revered veteran of the African National Congress liberation movement.
The Constitutional Court will hear Zuma’s application for it to rescind the judgment on Monday, 12 July.
The Department of Correctional Services said in a separate statement that Zuma was admitted to Estcourt Correctional Centre, about 175km from his rural homestead in Nkandla. Television aired live footage of his motorcade entering the facility.
DCS spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said: “The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) can confirm that Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma has been admitted to start serving a 15 months sentence at Estcourt Correctional Centre, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Mr Zuma will be taken through all the admission processes as per DCS regulations. Other relevant prescripts pertaining to admitting and orientating newly incarcerated persons will also be followed and executed.
“Details about the appropriate classification, prerogatives and incarceration conditions can only be determined at the completion of the assessment process to be undertaken by relevant authorities within the employ of DCS.
“Keeping inmates in a safe and secure custody remains cardinal to Correctional Services and we remain committed to this cause,” Nxumalo said.
The court gave Zuma a 15-month jail term last week for defying an instruction earlier in February to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption during his nine years in power until 2018.