Almost unheard of for former presidents to be jailed - analyst
A political analyst says former president Jacob Zuma's jailing will send a strong message everyone must be held accountable.
Zuma handed himself in at the Estcourt Correctional Centre late Wednesday night.
He was sentenced to 15 months in jail by the Constitutional Court for contempt.
READ: Holomisa commends Zuma, IFP calls for restraint as former president wakes up in prison
The University of KwaZulu-Natal's Dr Imraan Buccus says it's almost unheard of for a former head of state to be imprisoned.
"I think for a long time we have celebrated the kind of democracy we have in South Africa where there is complete separation of powers between the legislature, executive and the judiciary.
"It was a nail-biting event for many South Africans and I think at the same time we should commend former president Jacob Zuma for abiding by the Constitutional Court ruling and turning himself in. There are many ways I think this is a celebration of our democracy."
Buccus says this also means the forces that have been mobilising for Zuma have been weakened.
READ: The law cannot be mocked, ignored: DA on Zuma imprisonment
"For a while, people were saying that this is a sort of ethnic mobilisation and while there might be some element of ethnic mobilisation, I think the mobilisation for Zuma was by the broader RET forces because those forces that are bound by a solidarity of corruption will now be weakened."
