By Samkelo Mtshali 
Jul 9, 2021
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Pietermaritzburg – There is not a single supporter of former President Jacob Zuma in sight outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday morning, with a heavy police presence and barricades cordoning off Church Street where the court is located.
Although throngs of his supporters were expected to gather outside the court in a show of support for Zuma, as they often do during the former head of state’s court appearances, strict restrictions issued by the Msunduzi Municipality have limited activity outside the high court where the court has dismissed, with costs, his application to have his arrest stayed.
Zuma has begun serving his 15 months prison sentence at the Estcourt Correctional Centre, following his decision to hand himself over to police late on Wednesday, just as the deadline for his arrest approached.
Meanwhile, protest action is unfolding in several parts of KwaZulu-Natal with a shutdown of the province, reportedly in protest over Zuma’s incarceration.
These #FreeJacobZuma protests have erupted in parts of Durban near the Pavillion Shopping Centre, on the N3, as well as in areas on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal in Stanger and Mtubatuba, as well as the South Coast of the province in Umgababa, where trucks have blocked the freeway with debris, including sand and stones.