South African Court Declares Zuma ‘Ineligible’ For Presidency

South Africa’s apex court on Monday, ruled that former President Jacob Zumba is ineligible for the polls in next week’s general election.

Justice Leone Theron ruled that Zuma is not qualified for parliamentary elections considering that the constitution has bared anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in jail from contesting.

“This Court concludes that Mr Zuma was convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment, and is accordingly, not eligible to be a member of, and not qualified to stand for election to the National Assembly,” Theron ruled.

Zuma had been convicted for contempt of court during a case in 2021 after leaving office in 2018.

He was sentenced to 15 months but eventually served less than 3 months. The court have however ruled that his remission was irrelevant.

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The court’s decision is resulting to unrest amongst Zuma’s supporters with May 29 poll seem to be the most competitive since the advent of post-apartheid democracy in 1994.