A Rock and Hard Place: Bheki Cele Could Be Breaking the Law by Not Arresting Zuma
- Police Minister Bheki Cele is in a tricky situation, if he does not arrest former president Jacob Zuma he could find himself in contempt of court
- The minister of police has until midnight on Wednesday, 7 July to arrest the former president for contempt of court
- Zuma was given an opportunity to appeal the 15-month jail sentence on Sunday but it appears that he still has to hand himself in
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In a strange turn of events, Minister of Police Bheki Cele might find himself in contempt of court if he fails to arrest former president Jacob Zuma.
Zuma was supposed to be arrested on Sunday but the deadline was extended in order for Zuma to give the Constitutional Court reasons why he should not serve his 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court.
Source: Getty Images
The SAPS were given a new deadline and were instructed to arrest bring Zuma in for procession on Wednesday, 7 July according to The South African.
Constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos explains that Cele has a legal responsibility to arrest Zuma. He revealed that section 18 of the Superior Courts Act states that an appeal does not suspend a court order.
Bheki Cele in no hurry to arrest former president
Police Minister Bheki Cele has stated that the authorities are in no hurry to arrest Zuma. Cele said that the police had a lot of time to act still according to News24.
The Constitutional Court has given the police until midnight on Wednesday, 7 July to effect the arrest of Jacob Zuma.
Former President Jacob Zuma says 15 months in prison is like a death sentence
Earlier, Briefly News reported that 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.
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.
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 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
