Former South African President Jacob Zuma was arrested earlier this week following a lengthy 4 year legal scuffle over alleged “corruption” during his 9 year presidency.
Being nearly 80 years old, most of South Africa was shocked Zuma was sentenced by the Constitutional Court to 15 months in jail on 29 June for failing to attend the Zondo corruption hearing.
Sources confirm that Zuma has been admitted to start serving a 15-month sentence at Estcourt Correctional Centre, a level 3 security prison in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The building’s entrances have been blocked off, in addition to the 3 exiting roads being blockaded by barricades as well as having South African National Defense Force (SANDF) guards posted for the purposes of 24-hour surveillance.
As a result, South Africa has been on fire for the past 3 days as hundreds of thousands of supporters representing the elderly freedom fighter took to the streets.
The flood of supporters have chanted slogans like “One Africa, One People”, and even went about singing Zulu folk tunes as they fight for the right to support the man that much of country still views as Family despite his shortcomings.
The former president has applied to the court for the sentence to be annulled on the grounds that it is excessive on account of the medical risks that could come to a 80 year-old man with several pre-existing medical conditions.
Zuma called the sentence a “political statement of exemplary punishment”. He also stated that the prosecutor in the case Bill Downer a Boer and well known white supremacist of “Supporting a political party’s application to have me prosecuted after the NPA had terminated the decision to do so creates a reasonable belief that he is biased.”
The sentiment on streets is much more hearty though.
“We don’t have a choice, I know he did some stuff that we consider to be kinda like selling out you know, but we draw the line when the ‘squatters’ (Boers) and the Nazis think they can tell the Black man what to do in his own nation.” said a demonstrator who requested to remain unnamed.
Zuma’s first hearing for his appeal is scheduled for July 9th.
–Sylvester Loving, B1Daily
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