South Africa's Constitutional Court issued the ruling following an appeal by the lawyers of a corruption inquiry against Zuma led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

“The Constitutional Court can do nothing but conclude that Mr Zuma is guilty of the crime of contempt of court,” judge Sisi Khampepe had said on Tuesday last, reported Al Jazeera.

“This kind of recalcitrance and defiance is unlawful and will be punished,” Khampepe said, the report added.

He was given end of Sunday to hand himself in, after which the police would have been obliged to arrest him.

However, on Saturday the court agreed to hear his appeal on July 12, said Al Jazeera.

Zuma has described the sentence a “political statement of exemplary punishment” and alleged that he was the victim of political witch hunt.

He has also questioned Zondo's neutrality and accused him of being biased.

In his plea to rescind the order submitted on Friday, Zuma cited that his old age “would put him at the highest risk of death” from the pandemic if he was sent to jail because he is nearly 80 and has a medical condition, reported Al Jazeera.

Members of the Umkhonto Wesizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) have threatened that the country would be destabilised if Zuma was arrested, promising to form a human chain around Zuma, said the report.

Thousands of Zuma supporters, mainly members of the African National Congress’s Umkhonto Wesizwe military wing, are also camping outside his house, the report added.