Rights groups hail imprisonment of South Africa’s ex-leader

NKANDLA, South Africa (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma has begun 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 Thursday at the Estcourt Correctional Center prison in KwaZulu-Natal province. The 79-year-old was convicted of contempt for defying a court order to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his 2009 to 2018 presidency. Human rights groups in South Africa welcomed his incarceration. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, which Zuma once headed, issued a guarded statement saying it “respects” his decision to comply with the law.