Rights Groups Hail Imprisonment Of South Africa's Ex-Leader

Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court after handing himself over to police minutes before a midnight deadline.

Human rights groups have welcomed the imprisonment of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who on Thursday began serving a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court after handing himself over to police minutes before a midnight deadline. Zuma was being held at the Estcourt Correctional Center in KwaZulu-Natal province about 124 miles from his rural home in Nkandla. Zuma, 79, was convicted and sentenced for defying a court order to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his 2009-2018 presidency.