This archive report was first published on 29 June 2021.
On June 29, 2021, South Africa's Constitutional Court handed down a landmark judgment, sentencing former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.
The court's majority decision, written by Justice Sisi Khampepe, found Zuma guilty of failing to obey the court's order in January to attend Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo's state capture inquiry for questioning.
With two justices dissenting, the majority decision emphasized that Zuma's conduct was 'recalcitrant', 'egregious', and smacked of 'malice', leaving the court with no choice but to deprive him of his freedom.
According to the court, Zuma had repeatedly stated that he would rather go to jail than obey the court's order, and had refused to appear before the court to make representations regarding sentencing.
Despite a jail term, the sentence is less than Zondo was asking for, being two years for repeat contempt of his commission.
Analysts pointed out that all the justices were in agreement on the fundamentals of the case, including Zuma being guilty of contempt, with the only issue being what was the best and most appropriate sentence.
Reacting to the judgment, Zuma's spokesman Mzwanele Manyi described it as a 'sad day' for South Africa, emphasizing that at least two justices found that jailing Zuma would be unconstitutional and that the order represents a 'constitutional crisis'.
