South Africa’s top court has handed former president Jacob Zuma a 15-month jail term for contempt of court following his refusal to appear before graft investigators.

Zuma is accused of enabling the plunder of state coffers during his nearly nine-year stay in office.

The commission of inquiry is headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The panel was set up by Zuma himself, under pressure over mounting scandals, shortly before he was ousted in 2018 by the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

But he only testified once, in July 2019, before staging a walkout days later and accusing the commission of bias.

He then ignored several invitations to reappear, citing medical reasons and preparations for another corruption trial.

He presented himself again briefly in November but left before questioning, and Zondo asked to ask the Constitutional Court to intervene.