- On Monday, the Constitutional Court is expected to hear former president Jacob Zuma's application to overturn his prison sentence.
- The former president was sentenced to 15 months'imprisonment.
- This after he defied its ruling that he appear before the Zondo Commission and answer questions that did not implicate him in specific crimes.
Former president Jacob Zuma's incarceration is set to dominate the continuing drama in South African politics, as pro-Zuma riots reverberate throughout Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The Constitutional Court is expected to hear Zuma's application to have his prison sentence overturned.
The former president was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment after he defied its ruling that he appear before the Zondo Commission and answer questions that did not implicate him in specific crimes.
READ | ‘Zuma shouldn't be pardoned’
After refusing to make any submissions on the sanction he should face, Zuma argued sending him to prison would amount to a "death sentence".
Zuma's troubles in the courts were compounded last week when the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg dismissed a bid by the former president to have his arrest order stayed until the rescission application before the ConCourt was concluded.
Judge Jerome Mnguni found Zuma's lawyers had approached the wrong court in their challenge of the ruling from the highest court in the land.
On Sunday, pro-Zuma protests that largely erupted in KwaZulu-Natal, spread to Gauteng and led to running battles between the police and rioters and the large-scale looting of shops.
In the ANC, this past weekend's national executive committee (NEC) outcomes is expected to be announced this week.
At the NEC meeting, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Zuma's imprisonment was a sad moment.
Ramaphosa told the NEC that despite the views on the sentence Zuma faced for contempt of court, the pain people felt should be acknowledged.Johannesburg CBD is full of activity this evening as protests continue. #zumaprotests #ZumaUnrest (@Sesona_Ngqaks) pic.twitter.com/v40lE9daAB
— Team News24 (@TeamNews24) July 11, 2021
The president told party leaders the ANC must act as, and be seen to be, the leader of society.
With the suspension of Zuma loyalist Carl Niehaus, more suspensions are expected this week.
Niehaus, was arrested on Thursday for contravening Covid-19 regulations.
The spokesperson of the disbanded uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association was arrested after he addressed a gathering outside the Estcourt Correctional Services Centre, where Zuma is being held.
Niehaus was also suspended by the NEC on Wednesday for continuing to protest Zuma's arrest, outside the former president's home in Nkandla.
He is, however, appealing the ANC's decision.
Another Zuma supporter who suffered defeat in the court is suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.
On Friday, he suffered a huge blow when the court ruled the party's constitution was consistent with that of the country and the decision to suspend him was effected in terms of its constitution.
Magashule is set to appeal the Johannesburg High Court judgment "because it is legally wrong and unconstitutional".