
South Africa Former President Jacob Zuma has spent his first night at the Escourt Correctional Services facility in KwaZulu-Natal, after he handed himself over to Correctional Services, less than an hour before the expiration of the deadline for police to arrest him.
Police had warned they were prepared to arrest the 79-year-old if he did not hand himself in by midnight on Wednesday.
The former President was given a 15-month jail term by the Constitutional Court last week for contempt of court, after failing to abide by the Constitutional Court’s order to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
Correctional Services’ spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo says Zuma will be taken through all admission processes.
SABC reporter Samkele Maseko said, “We spoke to two sources who did engage with the former President and he told them he does not want any bloodshed. He wants to go and hand himself over. He told his comrades he wants no bloodshed. Hence, the police decided to hold in absents in arresting of the former President. We do know that there were reports that the Constitutional Court judges were meeting that has come to fruition. That may not be true and instead, there were negotiations with the former President choosing to avoid any further bloodshed.”
