JOHANNESBURG, July 6 (Reuters) – South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma tried to block his arrest in court on Tuesday, as top police officials said they would hold back while Zuma’s two-pronged legal challenge unfolds.
The constitutional court last Tuesday sentenced Zuma to a 15-month jail term for contempt of court after he defied an order to give evidence at a corruption inquiry in February.
The court instructed police to arrest Zuma by the end of Wednesday if he did not hand himself in, sparking an angry reaction from Zuma’s supporters and laying bare deep divisions in the governing African National Congress (ANC).
But late last week Zuma asked the constitutional court to cancel its sentence and approached the high court for an interdict to prevent police from arresting him until the constitutional court hears his “rescission application” on July 12.
