South Africa: Defiant Zuma slams the government
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A defiant Jacob Zuma on Sunday addressed hundreds of his supporters outside his KwaZulu-Natal home after police failed to disperse them.
Earlier this week, the Constitutional Court sentenced the former President to 15 months in prison for contempt and gave him until Sunday to hand himself over.
However, the same court on Saturday agreed to hear Zuma's last-minute challenge to rescind the order. That hearing is scheduled for 12 July, and it appears unlikely that Zuma will have to report to prison before then.
The 79-year-old Zuma sparked an outcry in November when he walked out of proceedings without permission from Deputy Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, who is probing allegations of state capture during Zuma’s nine-year presidency.
Zondo asked the court to give Zuma a two-year jail term. However, Zuma took aim at the Constitutional Court as well as the entire judiciary, warning that “a judicial dictatorship” is threatening the stability of the country.
On Saturday, Zuma told his heavily-armed supporters that he does not know what crime he committed to be sent to jail.
“To me, this shows me that the administers of the law, perhaps even the leaders of the country, do not know what it is to run a country and the law. You don’t abuse these powers when they have been given to you, because that can cause huge damage that could have been avoided in the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Prime Minister of the Zulu nation, has distanced himself from the Zulu regiment commander, Zihogo Nhleko, who led Zuma’s supporters this weekend.
-0- PANA CU/VAO 4July2021
