Former South African president Jacob Zuma granted appeal to jail sentence

Constitutional court agrees to hear challenge to 15-month prison-term, as Zuma rallies political support

Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, appeared on Saturday to have won a reprieve from imminent imprisonment on contempt of court charges after the country's most senior judges agreed to hear his challenge to a 15-month jail sentence awarded last week.

Police were ordered to arrest the 79-year-old by the supreme court if he did not surrender to authorities by Sunday after he failed to appear before a corruption inquiry earlier this year.