The sentence was handed down after Zuma failed to testify
at an inquiry probing corruption during his 9-year rule, one seen as a test of
post-apartheid South Africa's ability to enforce the rule of law, particularly
against powerful politicians.
Zuma, recuperating in hospital after undergoing surgery for
an undisclosed illness, asked the court in July to revoke its sentence for
contempt arguing it was excessive, and that jail would endanger his health and
life.
In a majority decision, the Constitutional Court rejected
his arguments.
It was the latest legal setback for the 79-year-old
anti-apartheid veteran from the ruling African National Congress, whose
presidency between 2009-2018 was marred by widespread allegations of graft and
malfeasance. He denies wrongdoing.
His jailing on July 7, after handing himself over to police
at the last minute, triggered some of the worst riots and looting in decades,
with more than 300 people killed and thousands of businesses pillaged and
razed.
The violence, which President Cyril Ramaphosa described as
a "failed insurrection", was also fuelled by simmering frustration
among largely Black communities still living in squalid conditions long after
the ANC swept to power in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.
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