Zuma began serving his jail term on Thursday after turning himself in at Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal.
Incarcerated former South Africa president Jacob Zuma suffered yet another legal setback on Friday after the Pietermaritzburg High Court dismissed his stay of arrest application.
Mr Zuma had on Tuesday approached the High Court for an urgent application seeking a stay of the warrant of execution for his arrest following a 15-month jail sentence handed down by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court.
Judge Bhekisisa Jerome Mnguni dismissed the application with costs.
Had the judge granted Mr Zuma’s application, he would have been released from jail pending Monday’s Constitutional Court ruling on his application to rescind the 15-month prison sentence.
Mr Zuma’s lawyers will have their arguments heard by the apex court and try to persuade it to overturn its decision to jail the former head of state for contempt of court.
Mr Zuma began serving his jail term on Thursday after turning himself in at Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday night.
He was convicted for contempt of court after refusing to obey summons to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.
If the Constitutional Court does not rescind its decision to imprison him, he will only taste freedom after four months when he would be eligible for parole according to Justice Minister Ronald Lamola.
“It should be noted that in terms of section 736 A of the Correctional Services Act, an offender serving the determined or cumulative sentence of not more than 24 months may not be placed on parole until such an offender had served either the stipulated non-parole period or a quarter of the sentence,” says Lamola.
The Department of Correctional Services also said there will not be any special treatment for the former president and that he will be handled just like any other prisoner.
The Department said Mr Zuma will also wear the famous orange overalls — the official prison garb for convicted criminals.
Mr Zuma maintains that his incarceration is politically motivated.