At around 1.30am on Thursday, former President Jacob Zuma was sent to Estcourt prison to serve a prison sentence following his conviction for contempt of court. The result was eye-opening and came after a game of legal ping-pong that reached Olympic proportions. Mabuza resigned along with lawyer Muzi Sikhakhane, who has been the face of Zuma`s legal team for three years. „It is inappropriate for a former head of state to engage in a dispute or a public dispute and attack the deputy chief justice of the highest court in the land, and sometimes I feel that his legal team is not giving him good advice,” Motlanthe said. Bringing a former head of state to justice in a national trial in Africa seems unprecedented. Some heads of State have been overthrown in coups; Others who have been removed from office have been convicted by international tribunals. In Zuma`s case, he was tried and convicted under South African law and the South African judicial system in a fully transparent process. Zuma`s conviction underscores that South Africa has the strongest culture of rule of law and judicial independence on the continent, both of which underpin a strong democratic course. „The name Zuma`a has been used by some people to enrich themselves, millions of rand have been raised in the name of raising funds for Ubaba`s legal fees, but his lawyers have not been paid,” he added. A penniless old man with health problems who, in retrospect, had listened to bad legal advice. Mabuza and his team owe millions of rand in legal fees, while some of Zuma`s staff reportedly collected „donations for Ubaba`s legal fees” and collected millions of rand, but lawyers did not pay, the sources said. Zuma is seeking legal advice on his options in the „coming weeks” after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) said on Monday that he must return to prison.

The withdrawal, according to sources with intimate knowledge of the case, was accelerated by some of the former president`s allies, who acted as gatekeepers who prevented lawyers from meeting Zuma alone, giving him poor legal advice in the process. „We also don`t know if all the funds that have been donated and collected have reached Ubaba, or maybe a fraction of that,” said one of Zuma`s other employees, who knows that some people raise money for legal fees. Former President Kgalema Motlanthe on Wednesday called the attack on the head of the state`s detention commission, deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, inappropriate and said former president Jacob Zuma was receiving bad legal advice. This, he said, meant that the entire claim for jurisdiction was directly before the courts, coupled with the fact that Zuma lived within the jurisdiction and would be imprisoned in the province. Much of the hearing focused on whether Mnguni was competent to hear Zuma`s request and whether the case should be heard by the Constitutional Court. Mpofu argued that a suspension would effectively „freeze” the arrest warrant until further arbitration and that there was no point in throwing Zuma in jail if there was a good chance he would win the resignation request. NPA spokesman Sipho Ngwema confirmed on Saturday that law enforcement was ready to go to court. The Sunday Independent also received a letter of response from KwaZulu-Natal Deputy Chief Justice Mjabuliseni Isaac Madando, confirming Mabuza`s resignation. Judge Madondo also asked Mabuza to appear in court on the day of the trial, May 17, giving „every reason” for his withdrawal. According to the sources, there were ethical reasons for the resignations, one of which is that the lawyers „did not want to be dishonest with the court.” THE LAW EXPLAINED| Will Jacob Zuma turn himself in to the police or be arrested on Wednesday? South Africa`s Constitutional Court has sentenced former President Jacob Zuma to fifteen months in prison for defying a court order to appear before the Zondo Commission, which is investigating allegations of corruption during Zuma`s presidency from 2009 to 2018.

Since the court is the highest in the country, Zuma cannot appeal. Nine judges ruled. Everyone agreed that Zuma was guilty; Seven were in favour of imprisonment, while two were in favour of a conditional sentence. This is the first time a former South African head of state has been sentenced to prison. Zuma has five days to surrender to authorities in Johannesburg or Nkandla, his home in KwaZulu-Natal. If he fails to do so, the court ordered the police chief to arrest him within three days. He said the opposition of the commission and Zondo was „peripheral” and based on bitterness between the judge and Zuma. Zuma did not surrender within the stipulated five days and the police minister is now ready to arrest him by Wednesday. This publication is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel project on the future of democracy.

The Jacob Zuma Foundation attacked the investigation after the former president failed to appear before the committee last month as scheduled. Zuma was summoned to appear before the Commission in November. Zuma then demanded that Zondo step down. „That`s what put him in the soup in the first place. He was of the view that the chances of the [abusive] application were slim. In hindsight, this turned out to be false. „It is therefore necessary that you appear in court on the day of the trial and formally request permission to withdraw. Until the court gives you permission to withdraw, you will not be exempt from participating. » Download the EWN app on your iOS or Android device. In 2016, the Public Protector – an office established by the constitution to investigate and remedy inappropriate behaviour by government officials – recommended the establishment of a commission to investigate allegations of corruption by the Zuma presidency. With no other choice, Zuma set up the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of state appropriation, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

Zuma has consistently blocked the commission`s work and refused to appear before it, even when the court asked him to do so. This is the immediate context of the latest decision. Mpofu claimed that there were at least a dozen reasons why Mnguni had done this, and that the problem was a „red herring”. This week, Mabuza sent a notice to the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court stating that he was retiring as Zuma`s lawyer without explanation. Zuma`s foundation says Zondo is obsessed with the former president, wants to humiliate him and has already found him guilty. Subscribe for free: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Player.fm Zuma retains political support, particularly in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. One might fear that his supporters would protest or even try to block his arrest. However, South Africa is under a strict lockdown due to the resurgence of COVID-19, making it difficult to gather a crowd. „Our country is in great and serious difficulty,” former President Jacob Zuma`s spokesman said in a statement late Tuesday. The Jacob Zuma Foundation has criticised the investigation into the government capture after the former president failed to appear before the commission last month as scheduled. „These are all systems for the state and its more than 200 witnesses.

We are ready to continue the trial on May 17 so that the accused has the opportunity to clear his name,” he said. He also highlighted the fact that Zuma had also initiated a „Part B” in the petition before Mnguni, a constitutional challenge to the Criminal Procedure Act, as it does not provide for a trial in defiance of the judicial procedures he faced. Mabuza was allegedly forced to communicate with Zuma through one of his employees and not directly as a customer. Lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, for the commission and Zondo, is expected to argue Tuesday afternoon. President Cyril Ramaphosa defeated Zuma for the leadership of the ruling African National Congress and then for the presidency of South Africa, in part because Zuma and his government were seen as corrupt. But Zuma, a populist in style, has retained significant support in the country and in the party, especially among the poor and marginalized, and among his fellow Zulus, the country`s largest ethnic group. Zuma and his supporters have tried to thwart Ramaphosa`s efforts to reform the state. Zuma`s conviction and imprisonment by an independent judiciary is likely to strengthen Ramaphosa`s position in implementing reforms. Mabuza and Sikhakhane could not be reached for comment. The bottom line, however, is that Zuma`s conviction and imprisonment is a powerful example for other African states to hold their leaders accountable. The former president faces 16 charges of extortion, fraud, corruption and money laundering and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The French company also said it was not aware of any violations committed by its employees during the awarding of contracts. „For this (unspecified) ethical reason, the lawyer decided to withdraw from the case, and it`s not that they are not paid. The lawyers owe millions of rand, but they kept working until this ethical question arose,” said one of the sources, who asked not to be named. He said they were „uninvited businessmen” and that their opposition was „inappropriate because their role in the case ended when the majority of the Constitutional Court ordered Zuma to disobey the court and sentence him to 15 months in prison.