In the latest development Speaking to the media outside his family homestead in Nkandla on Tuesday afternoon, Jacob Zuma’s son Edward boldly and repeatedly declared that law enforcement officers would have to kill him before they arrested his father.

Edward Zuma said his father would not hand himself over to the police within five days as instructed by the country’s apex court.

The Guptas, who also deny wrongdoing, left South Africa after Zuma’s ouster. The judge said that Zuma has to appear before police within five days.

A spokesman for Zuma told news agencies that the former president would issue a statement later, without elaborating.

The commission of inquiry is headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. The panel was set up by Zuma himself, shortly before he was ousted in 2018 by the ruling African National Congress.