JOHANNESBURG: In a historic ruling, South Africa's top court on Tuesday handed the country's former president, Jacob Zuma, a 15-month jail term for "egregious" contempt of court after he refused to appear before graft investigators.

Zuma was told to turn himself in within five days, failing which police will be ordered to arrest him and take him to jail. The ruling sets a precedent for South Africa - and a benchmark for the continent - by jailing a former head of state for failing to respond to a corruption probe.

"Mr. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is guilty of the crime of contempt of court," Constitutional Court judge Sisi Khampepe said.

"No person is above the law," she said and made reference to Zuma's "egregious affront on judicial integrity, the rule of law and the constitution".

Zuma, 79, is accused of enabling the plunder of state coffers during his nearly nine-year stay in office, which ended calamitously in February 2018 when the ruling African National Congress (ANC) forced him out. Before he left office, he responded to mounting pressure and set up an investigative commission, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. The panel has encountered years of resistance from Zuma. He only testified once, in July 2019, before staging a walkout days later and accusing Zondo of bias. He then ignored several invitations to reappear, in some cases citing medical reasons and preparations for another corruption trial.

He presented himself again briefly in November but left before questioning and then ignored a court order to return to the panel, forcing an exasperated Zondo to ask the Court to intervene for contempt.