Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla tweeted, “Just spoke to my father. He is in high spirits and has no fear.” Zuma-Sambudla told her social media followers “lockdown or no lockdown, they will be escorting Zuma to serve his time.” Earlier on Tuesday the Constitutional Court sentenced Zuma to 15 months in jail, saying he was in contempt of court when he failed to appear and participate at the state capture inquiry.

Meanwhile, the former president’s foundation has described the Constitutional Court judgment as the biggest travesty of justice that the world is witnessing. Zuma's spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi has questioned how he, without a trial, was handed down a criminal sentence by the apex court. He said Tuesday’s unprecedented judgment was a unique circumstance created just for Zuma. “At one point, the majority judges decide that because they did not get the right facts accrued to the accused, they still decide to give him a sentence that normally accrues to the accused.”

Long-time Zuma ally and president of the ANC Women’s League Bathabile Dlamini said the Constitutional Court judgement was shocking. While she wouldn’t say whether or not she felt the apex court made a mistake in the matter, Dlamini said all would be revealed in the future. The ANC Women’s League president compared Zuma to Brazil’s Lula da Silva who was jailed for corruption but had since had his convictions annulled. She also defended Zuma’s views on the court, which it described as attacks on the judiciary, warning about the courts playing in political spaces. “And when courts entangle themselves in political [factions] they end up having to take the sides of those they support and this is very clear.

Even a child can see what is happening.” In the runup to the judgment, some of Zuma's supporters vowed to protect the former president from arrest. But the nation's Police Minister Bheki Cele said they were bound by the courts and would act as and when they were instructed. Responding to questions at a COVID-related briefing earlier, Cele laid out the timeline from here on out. “The former president decides not to respond to the decision made by the courts and the instruction is that the national police commissioner and the minister of police to act within three days, after five days.”