Zuma in court as six killed and 200 arrested at protests

Army soldiers are set to be deployed to help quell the violent protests in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng

Stick-wielding protesters march through the streets of Johannesburg following the imprisonment of former South African President Jacob Zuma (REUTERS)

Former South African president Jacob Zuma was in court on Monday, as protests against his detainment saw six people killed and more than 200 arrested across the country.

The former president was in court to challenge a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court for failing to testify before a state-backed inquiry into allegations of high-level corruption between 2009 and 2018.

It is alleged that Zuma allowed three Indian businessmen to pillage state resources and exercise influence over the government during his presidency.

Despite denying any wrongdoing, Zuma turned himself in to the Estcourt Correctional Centre last Wednesday to begin serving his custodial sentence.

In Monday’s virtual hearing at the Constitutional Court, Zuma’s lawyers asked the court to withdraw his jail term, based on a rule that allows judgements to be reconsidered if made in the absence of the affected person or if they contain a patent error.

Legal experts say Zuma’s chances of successfully overturning his imprisonment are slim, however, as a bid to secure his release was already rejected at a lower regional court on Friday.

The state’s decision to jail the former leader is seen as a test of South Africa’s ability to enforce the law in the post-apartheid era, sending the message that no one is above the law.

Not all South Africans see Zuma’s incarceration that way, however, as many of his supporters believe that he is a victim of a political witch hunt orchestrated by current president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Supporters of the former president have been protesting his imprisonment, burning trucks, looting commercial property and blocking major roads in KwaZulu-Natal – Zuma’s home province – and Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.

A mall in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, was seen on fire on local television news. Local media reported that the leading highway into the city had been closed to prevent further violence.

Police Major General Mathapelo Peters said that several hundred people had looted and burned stores in the Alexandra and Bramley neighbourhoods of Johannesburg. She added that at least three officers had been injured trying to arrest looters, with one requiring hospitalisation with a gunshot wound.

The South African National Defence Force said that army soldiers would be deployed across the affected provinces to help to quell the violence.

A statement released by NatJOINTS, a government intelligence agency, said that as of Monday morning, 219 people had been arrested, and six had died – two with gunshot wounds – as a result of the violent protests, which continued overnight.

At a Sunday evening press conference on the country’s Covid response, Mr Ramaphosa condemned the violence. He said that it was only serving to damage efforts to rebuild the country’s economy, which was severely hurt by the pandemic. He added that those involved in the violent acts would be arrested and prosecuted.

“Our Constitution guarantees everyone’s right to express themselves and to engage in peaceful protest,” he said.

“While there are those who may be hurt and angry at this moment, there can never be any justification for such violent, destructive and disruptive actions.”

He added: “This must be condemned by all South Africans at all costs as we are a nation committed to non-racialism and non-tribalism, underpinned by the diversity and unity of all the people of South Africa, whatever their language, culture, religious beliefs, and race”.