Judge Jerome Mnguni- I could not determine the nature of the irreparable harm that Jacob Zuma would have suffered by being sent to jail.

Jacob Zuma’s lawyers made a two-part application to the court seeking to stay the execution of his arrest until the Constitutional Court concluded his rescission matter and to interdict the police from effecting the arrest. Both applications were dismissed with costs against Zuma.

JOHANNESBURG – Judge Jerome Mnguni of the Pietermaritzburg High Court said that he could not determine the nature of the irreparable harm that Jacob Zuma would have suffered by being sent to jail, which was among the reasons the former president’s application was dismissed.

However, both applications were dismissed, with the court also issuing a costs order against Zuma..

Judge Mnguni wrote in the judgment that Zuma’s case collapsed “like a deck of cards” as he invoked an incorrect and unprecedented procedure.

The court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over the matter, with Mnguni explaining that there was no higher authority in the country than the Constitutional Court and that its decisions could not be undermined by a lower court.

Mnguni contended that the application sought to entangle the court in judicial adventurism and to make “whimsical orders which have the effect of granting unlawful and unwarranted relief”.

He also stated that Zuma had an alternative remedy available to him, which was to apply directly to the Constitutional Court, which provided for urgent applications.

Among other reasons, Zuma had argued that he should not be sent to prison as he had concerns about his health. However, the court said that there was no evidence to support this.

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South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in prison by the country’s highest court.

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Former South African president, Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after being found guilty for defying a court order to appear before an inquiry probing wide-ranging allegations of corruption during his tenure from 2009 to 2018.



This is the first time in South Africa’s history that a former president has been sentenced to prison.



Zuma, who wasn’t present for the ruling on Tuesday, June 29, was ordered to hand himself over within five days to a police station in his hometown of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province or in Johannesburg.



Back in January, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had to respond to questions from a judicial commission headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. But the 79-year-old former intelligence operative accused the court and Zondo of bias, walked out of one scheduled panel hearing in November, and boycotted another in February.

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The panel responded by filing contempt charges against him.

“The Constitutional Court can do nothing but conclude that Mr. Zuma is guilty of the crime of contempt of court,” acting Chief Justice Sisi Khampepe said in a ruling in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “Mr. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is sentenced to undergo 15 months imprisonment.”



According to report, the government estimates more than 500 billion rand ($35 billion) was stolen from the state during Zuma’s rule, and at least 40 witnesses who’ve appeared before in court linked the ex-president to the looting spree.



However, Zuma, who was forced to quit in 2018, has denied wrongdoing and says the allegations against him are part of a smear campaign.