Jacob Zuma: Sentencing Me to Prison During the Pandemic Is a Death Sentence
- Former president Jacob Zuma addressed scores of his supporters outside his home in Nkandla after the Constitutional Court postponed his arrest so that he could appeal the sentence
- He said that he had never refused to appear before the Zondo Commission and only wanted to be treated with fairness and consistency
- Zuma said that he was prepared to go to jail for his beliefs and that he had done it before when he was sent to Robben Island
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After a delay, former president Jacob Zuma addressed the press on Sunday evening at his home in Nkandla.
Zuma said that sending him to prison at his age and his medical issues during the height of the pandemic would be the same as being sentencing him to death.
Source: Getty Images
The former president said that he is not afraid of going to jail for his beliefs and has been a prisoner of conscience before.
Zuma said that he would give the country a chance to hear his side. He thanked his supporters who had flocked to Nkandla.
Constitutional Court appeal set for later in July
He thanked the Constitutional Court for giving him an audience to appeal the 15-month sentence on the 12th of July.
The former president hoped that his supporters would remain outside his home until the date of his appeal.
Zuma said that it was important that everyone is treated equally before the law and that the Consitution is the supreme law of the country.
Zuma believes that he is being unfairly treated by the judiciary
He called the mainstream narrative "propaganda" and said that he had never refused to stand before the State Capture Commission.
Zuma said that his past relationship with Judge Zondo made him feel that the judge was treating him unfairly and with bias.
He also said that the commission should not be called the Zondo Commission because if something happened to him the commission would remain.
Zuma also said that if Zondo was not neutral and he felt that he could not appear before a man he had accused of bias and of having a conflict of interest.
The matter is being discussed in court. Zuma said that if Zondo recused himself, he would have been prepared to make his submission to a neutral party.
All Zuma wants is fairness and consistency.
"All I am asking for is fairness and consistency. Jacob Zuma is not the only person to have a reason not to appear before the commission. I must not be understood to be condoning any acts or conduct that seeks to deliberately frustrate the objectives of the commission."
The former president said that he was worried that the country was sliding back towards apartheid-style laws.
He also mentioned Ace Magashule's ban and the Alert Level 4 lockdown that was reminiscent of the curfews of the 1980's.
Zuma also said that the contempt of court charge was the same as detention without trial. He feels that he is being unfairly treated by judges who are not neutral.
He called on his supporters to peacefully conduct themselves within the rule of law.
Police form roadblock into Nkandla, tensions rise as supporters and police face off against each other
Police blocked the road into Nkandla creating a tense situation between former president Jacob Zuma and the authorities.
Angry supporters warned the police that this would lead to violence as tempers flared according to eNCA.
Gunshots heard as Duduzane Zuma arrives to support his father
Jacob Zuma's popular son, Duduzane Zuma arrived at the family's KwaDakwaduse homestead in Nkandla.
When he arrived the crowd began to dance and gunshots were heard being discharged. There had been gunshots before but never so close according to The Sowetan Live.
Zuma denies that he's done anything wrong
Former president Jacob Zuma has denied that he had done anything wrong and that the 15-month jail sentence isn't right.
Zuma addressed the scores of people gathered outside his home in Nkandla after the Constitutional Court agreed to hear his challenge. Zuma was due to hand himself in on Sunday, 4 July.
The former president repeated his condemnation of the Zondo Commission and he claimed that all he'd done was misinterpret something political.
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Source: Briefly News
