By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Despite the Constitutional Court agreeing to hear former president Jacob Zuma’s contempt rescission case, there is still an imminent arrest for Zuma should he not hand himself over to the police by 12 midnight on Sunday.
Should Zuma fail to act in accordance with the ruling,Police minister Bheki Cele and the National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Khehla Sithole must act to ensure that Zuma is arrested.
Zuma was ousted as president amid multiple graft scandals in 2018 after nine years in power and has consistently refused to coorperate with judges investigating wrongdoing during his rule.
However Zuma would then turn to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, where an urgent application to interdict minister Cele from effecting his arrest will be heard, according to a tweet by the foundation on Friday night.
But on Saturday the Constitutional Court said it will hear Zuma’s rescission application on 12 July.
Lawson Naidoo, from the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution has told News24 that Zuma’s application to the apex court “does not automatically stay the implementation of the court orders” that it has already issued for his arrest and committal by the police.
The former head of state says this jail term is a “possible death sentence” and insists that the Constitutional Court should, at very least, hear evidence in mitigation of his sentence “in relation to my developing health situation”.
“At that point, I will be in a better position to adduce the expert evidence of my medical team,” Zuma said.
“That is the least humane gesture this Honourable Court may wish to undertake before possibly sentencing me to death at my age, state of health and in the middle of a deadly pandemic.”
Naidoo also contends that, should Zuma not hand himself over on Sunday, he will “technically again be guilty of contempt of the Constitutional Court”.
Meanwhile Zuma’s supporters continue to arrive at his home with a motorcade from the eThekwini region arriving at lunch time followed by a contingent from Mpumalanga while a local group of amabutho (Zulu warriors) arrived shortly thereafter.
Earlier several gunshots have rung out just metres away from the home of Zuma at Nkandla in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
This has compromised the safety for some there as the situation grows tense. A number of Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans have now formed a human shield in front of the gates of Zuma’s home.
The MKMVA members tried to ascertain the direction of the gunshots but could not find the source.
It is now clear that some of the Zuma supporters are armed.
In the past few days, new Covid-19 restrictions have been introduced in an attempt to stem a sharp rise in cases driven by the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant, weak countermeasures and public fatigue with existing restrictions.
Zuma gave in to pressure to quit and yield to his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, and since then has faced several attempts to bring him to book for alleged corruption during and before his time as president.
Zuma also faces a separate court case relating to a $2 billion arms deal in 1999 when he was deputy president.