WATCH: Thousands of supporters at Nkandla

Thousands of people have gathered at former President Jacob Zuma’s home at Nkandla in KwaZula-Natal on Sunday to show support.

South Africa’s Constitutional Court on 29 June ruled that Zuma was in contempt of court for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry earlier this year, and it ordered that he be imprisoned for 15 months.

According to Netwerk24‘s Dennis Delport, who is reporting from Nkandla, thousands of people are gathered at Nkandla, with very few supporters wearing masks or following COVID-19 protocols.

“Some of the supporters are also drinking out of the same water and cold drink bottles. They are also drinking alcohol,” Delport writes.

• Zuma will address the media at 18:00 tonight, 4 July.

Supporters with banners that read “Hands off Zuma!”. Photo: Twitter (@ComradeMDU)

Zuma has persuaded the Constitutional Court to hear his application for a rescission of its contempt ruling against him and order that he serve 15 months behind bars.

In directions issued one day after Zuma launched urgent legal action to undo the contempt finding made against him or plead for a lesser sentence than the 15 months he currently faces, the Constitutional Court agreed that it would hear his rescission application on 12 July.

Zuma will still have to apply for an order staying the committal orders granted against him by the Constitutional Court in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The Court’s agreement to hear the case will arguably make it easier for him to obtain that stay.

The police are however understood to have agreed to not arrest him before the hearing of that urgent stay application, which is set down for Tuesday.

Zuma was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment after he defied the apex court’s ruling that he appear before the State Capture Inquiry and answer questions that did not implicate him in specific crimes.

After refusing to make any submissions on the sanction he should face, Zuma now argues that sending him to prison would amount to a “death sentence“. He also denied being  guilty of contempt.

The inquiry is opposing his rescission application and had until Tuesday to file papers in response to his arguments. – News24

In the meantime, the civil rights organisation AfriForum has ordered its legal team to start preparations to join the court application of Zuma as a friend of the court (amicus curiae).

In a statement released by AfriForum, the organisation said this move is “to demonstrate that the special treatment Zuma is currently receiving by the court is a violation of the principle that everyone should be treated as equal before the law”.

According to AfriForum, Zuma’s application to have his verdict of guilt set aside does not comply with rule 42 of the Uniform Court Rules, since his absence during his hearing was of his own doing. “The organisation finds it particularly strange that the Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the case,” the statement read.

According to Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, an ordinary citizen would not have been able to receive the same treatment as Zuma before the courts.

“It is therefore in the interest of every ordinary citizen that AfriForum gets involved and takes a stand to protect the principle of equality before the law.

“While the Constitutional Court’s initial ruling against Zuma was widely applauded as a victory for the principle of equality before the law, the latest developments have caused serious damage to the credibility of the judiciary,” Kriel added.