South Africa's high court will hear Zuma's challenge to jail term

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
Erin Doherty
·1 min read
In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

South Africa's highest court agreed to hear former president Jacob Zuma's challenge to the 15-month jail sentence that he received for failing to attend a corruption hearing, Reuters reports.

Driving the news: Zuma asked the court to reverse his sentence on grounds that it is excessive and could expose him to COVID-19, per Reuters.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Zuma also said the sentence was a "political statement of exemplary punishment."

  • Zuma's application will be heard on July 12, Bloomberg reports.

Catch up quick: South Africa's highest court sentenced Zuma to 15-months in prison earlier this week for failing to appear before a judicial panel that is investigating allegations of corruption during his presidency.

  • The court ordered Zuma to turn himself into police on Sunday, but with the decision to hear his application, that order is now suspended.

Go deeper: Court orders former South African president Jacob Zuma to be arrested for contempt

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • S.African ex-leader Zuma asks court to cancel 15-month jail sentence

    South Africa's ex-leader Jacob Zuma on Friday asked the country's top court to annul his 15-month jail sentence for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry, saying it was excessive, unjust and might kill him if he catches COVID-19 in prison. The constitutional court sentenced Zuma to 15 months in jail on Tuesday for failing to appear at the corruption inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February. In an affidavit submitted on Friday, Zuma said going to jail would put him at great risk.

  • South Africans camp outside Zuma's home in show of support

    Supporters gathered outside the rural home of South Africa's ex-president Jacob Zuma on Friday in a show of solidarity as he faced a deadline for surrendering to police for contempt of court.

  • UPDATE 4-U.S. economy is 'on the move,' Biden says as jobs jump

    U.S. President Joe Biden and top administration officials hailed Friday's strong monthly jobs report, saying it was a sign that the White House's economic and pandemic-fighting strategies were working. "This is historic progress, pulling our economy out of the worst crisis in 100 years, driven in part by our dramatic progress in vaccinating our nation and beating back the pandemic as well as other elements of the American Rescue plan," Biden said in remarks at the White House. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which passed Congress in March without any Republican support, pumped money into businesses, households and local governments.

  • U.S. economy is 'on the move,' Biden says as jobs jump

    U.S. President Joe Biden and top administration officials hailed Friday's strong monthly jobs report, saying it was a sign that the White House's economic and pandemic-fighting strategies were working. "This is historic progress, pulling our economy out of the worst crisis in 100 years, driven in part by our dramatic progress in vaccinating our nation and beating back the pandemic as well as other elements of the American Rescue plan," Biden said in remarks at the White House. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which passed Congress in March without any Republican support, pumped money into businesses, households and local governments.

  • Progress on COVID and economy under Biden, but disunion haunts U.S. on its 245th birthday

    Bipartisan cooperation has improved but political rancor is high. More than five months into Joe Biden's presidency, the United States has changed in multiple ways, with a healthier business outlook and a pandemic - at least in many parts of the country - increasingly under control. But as the world's largest economy celebrates its 245th birthday on July 4, the Independence Day holiday will not be the full celebration that Biden had hoped, or promised.

  • 'What was the point?' Afghans rue decades of war as U.S. quits Bagram

    As American troops left their main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, marking a symbolic end to the longest war in U.S. history, locals living in the shadow of the base and in nearby Kabul were left ruing the past and bracing for what comes next. Violence has been raging throughout Afghanistan in the weeks since President Joe Biden announced troops would withdraw unconditionally by Sept. 11. With peace talks in Qatar stuttering, and roughly a quarter of the country's districts having fallen to the Taliban in recent weeks according to one study, many are concerned that chaos looms.

  • NAACP sparks criticism for joining police in press briefing over forceful arrests

    “If the NAACP is standing at the podium with law enforcement, who is left to call out officer wrongdoing and officer excess?” a retired officer asked. The Rock Hill, South Carolina branch of the NAACP has sparked criticism for joining police in a press briefing over the forceful arrests of two Black brothers that was captured on video and shared on social media. The arrests ignited days of protests last week, prompting Police Chief Chris Watts and Mayor John Gettys to urge the public to remain calm.

  • Crypto exchange Binance hit by criminal complaint from Thai regulators

    Thailand's financial watchdog filed a criminal complaint against cryptocurrency exchange Binance on Friday for operating a digital asset business without a licence, the latest in a string of crackdowns on the platform by regulators globally. Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement that Binance had been operating a digital asset business "in the category of a digital asset exchange" without a licence.

  • Box Office: ‘F9’ Expected to Hit $126 Million Over Holiday Weekend

    “F9,” the ninth installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, is holding its own at the top of the domestic box office charts in its second week of release. Over the Fourth of July long weekend, the action flick is expected to add another $32.9 million to its gross from 4,203 theaters, raising its cume […]

  • Massachusetts police arrest group of 'heavily armed men' claiming to 'not recognize our laws'

    A bizarre incident unfolded Saturday morning in Wakefield, Massachusetts. According to local police: "during a motor vehicle stop, several heavily armed men claiming to be from a group that does not recognize our laws exited their vehicles and fled into the woodline" near Interstate Highway 95. The incident unfolded around 1:30 a.m. when a state trooper came across a group of 8 to 10 people refueling on the side of the I-95 highway in Wakefield, a suburb of Boston.

  • NYPD hunting for man involved in apparent broad daylight sexual assault of woman: Video

    The New York City Police Department is hunting for a suspect captured on video groping a woman in broad daylight on a borough sidewalk, authorities said.

  • Heavily Armed Militia Group Shut Down Massachusetts Highway in Bizarre Standoff

    YouTube/Rise of the MoorsA cadre of armed men from a militia group called the Rise of the Moors shut down a highway outside of Boston for more than nine hours on Saturday morning after allegedly refusing to comply with police orders and taking off into the woods with guns.The group says on their website that they’re “Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders.” In YouTube videos of the incident, they claimed they were only trying to travel peacefully to their “

  • Ex-'Predator' host turns himself in, resolves video issue

    The former host of the “To Catch a Predator” TV series turned himself in Friday after a Michigan judge issued a warrant for his arrest for no-showing at a court hearing to explain why he had not given a defense lawyer more footage of a police sting operation. Chris Hansen, 61, checked in at the Shiawassee County jail in Corunna — 65 miles (104.61 kilometers) northwest of Detroit — was released and has 14 days to produce the full video, prosecutor Scott Koerner said. Hansen later posted a photo of the county courthouse on Instagram and said all matters had been resolved.

  • Police say criminal investigation of Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer 'bigger than we thought'

    The woman who has accused Bauer filed for a domestic violence restraining order on Tuesday.

  • Dad stops man trying to kidnap 10-year-old daughter until cops arrive, Oregon police say

    The man told the girl she was a human trafficking victim, police said.

  • 2 dead, 4 injured after gunman opens fire on city water employees in Spartanburg

    The suspected shooter is believed to be dead.

  • Trip to the Dominican Republic turns into a vacation from hell: ‘We’ve lost everything’

    It was supposed to be an eight-day getaway, a chance for three South Florida brothers to reconnect with family living in the Dominican Republic amid coronavirus lockdowns and quarantine.

  • Kentucky man who was convicted in homicide but pardoned must stay in jail, judge rules

    A prosecutor had argued it would be dangerous to release Patrick Baker.

  • Culver City Police Release New Video of Suspect Who Attacked Asian American Woman

    Police in Culver City, Calif., released a new surveillance video of a suspect accused of attacking an Asian American woman last month. A better look: Police previously released a video of the actual incident, but the new surveillance footage offers a clearer view of the suspect’s face. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Culver City Police Department Detective Bureau at (310) 253-6300.

  • Judge orders release of Wisconsin woman in Slender Man case

    A Wisconsin judge on Thursday ordered the release of a woman who has spent 3 1/2 years in a state mental health facility after being convicted of stabbing her classmate to please the Slender Man character. Anissa Weier, 19, was sentenced to 25 years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in December 2017. Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren gave state officials 60 days to draw up a conditional release plan and sent Weier back to the mental hospital pending another hearing on Sept. 10.