There was none of the bloodshed that supporters in his volatile KwaZulu-Natal Province threatened to unleash days before. Zuma was taken into police custody with less than an hour to go until the deadline set by the constitutional court eight days earlier, where he was given a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court.
The populist and charismatic former leader led the governing African National Congress (ANC) for a decade and was president of South Africa for almost nine years, until 2018. He prided himself on being able to appeal to the downtrodden and attract crowds.
Supporters of former South African President Zuma rally in Nkandla © Supporters of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma rally outside his home in Nkandla, South Africa, 7 July 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
‘Jailed without a trial in a democratic country’
Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, tweeted hours after her father arrived at the newly refurbished Estcourt prison, a two-hour drive on treacherous rural roads, that he: “Was Jailed Without A Trial In A Democratic Country. A Travesty Of Justice!!! @MYANC My
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