S.African ex-leader Zuma gets 15 months' jail for inquiry no-show as legal options run out

South Africa's highest court on Tuesday sentenced ex-president Jacob Zuma to 15 months in jail for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry, as Zuma appeared to run out of options in his battleto escape prosecution.

The former leader failed to appear at the inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February, and the inquiry's lawyers approached the constitutional court to seek an order for his imprisonment. 

"He has depleted all his (legal) options because there is no higher court to appeal to. The constitutional court is normally the last stop," Amanda Gouws, a professor of political science at the University of Stellenbosch, said.

"They have finally said 'enough is enough'," she said.

Zuma, 79, was ousted in a move orchestrated by allies of his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in 2018. Since then, he has faced determined legal moves aiming to bring him to book for alleged grand corruption during and before his time in office.

These include the so-called Zondo commission, but also a separate court case relating to a $2 billion arms deal in 1999, when Zuma was deputy president.

The Zondo inquiry is examining allegations of high-level graft involving three Indian tycoons during Zuma's period in power from 2009 to 2018. Zuma denies wrongdoing and has so far not cooperated.

He has five days to appear before police.

"INSULT"

Commenting on a 21-page letter that Zuma sent to the country's chief justice in which he claimed to have been treated unfairly, the judge said: "His attempts to evoke public sympathy through unfounded allegations fly in the face of reason, and are an insult the constitutional dispensation for which so many women and men fought and lost their lives."

She added: "If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law."

A spokesman for Zuma told eNCA television that Zuma's lawyers would study the constitutional court judgment before issuing a statement.

The allegations against Zuma include that he allowed businessmen close to him - brothers Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta - to plunder state resources and influence policy.

The Guptas, who also deny wrongdoing, left South Africa after Zuma's ouster.

President Ramaphosa has been trying to restore investor confidence in Africa's most industrialised nation. However, he has faced opposition from a faction within the governing African National Congress (ANC) party that is still loyal to Zuma.

An ANC spokesman was not immediately available to comment on Tuesday's court ruling when called by Reuters.