Former South African president Jacob Zuma lost a court bid on Friday to overturn his arrest for contempt, days after turning himself in for a 15-month jail term.

“The application is dismissed,” the presiding judge said

The constitutional court last week ordered Zuma jailed for refusing to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption during his nine years in office from 2009. Though he turned himself in on Wednesday, Zuma has challenged his sentence.

The constitutional court would hear his challenge, which pivots partly on his allegedly frail state of health and risk of catching COVID-19, in a separate case on Monday, but Friday’s high court judgment means he must stay in jail until that hearing is concluded.

“Mr Zuma’s concerns about his health are not supported by any evidence,” the Pietermaritzburg high court judge said.

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The ruling came less than an hour after the high court in Johannesburg dismissed an application by the secretary general of the African National Congress (ANC), Ace Magashule, to have his suspension over corruption charges in a separate case set aside.

Both politicians’ proceedings are regarded as a test of South Africa’s ability to enforce the law fairly – even against powerful politicians 27 years after the ANC ousted South Africa’s white minority rulers to usher in democracy.

For Zuma, the jail order has also been viewed as the most dramatic chapter yet in his journey from a respected anti-apartheid activist to a politician tainted by charges of sleaze and corruption, all of which he denies.

As a member of the ANC when it was a liberation movement, Zuma was jailed by South Africa’s white minority rulers for his efforts to establish a state that would treat citizens equally.

The former President  turned himself in to the Police on Wednesday to begin 15 months in jail for contempt of court.

This is the culmination of a long legal drama seen as a test of the post-apartheid state’s ability to enforce the rule of law.

Police spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, confirmed in a statement that Zuma was in police custody, in compliance with the Constitutional Court judgment.

The Department of Correctional Services said in a separate statement that Zuma was admitted to Estcourt Correctional Centre, about 175 km (108 miles) from his rural homestead in Nkandla in eastern South Africa.

Television aired live footage of his motorcade entering the facility.

The court gave Zuma a 15-month jail term last week for defying an instruction earlier in February to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption during his nine years in power until 2018.

The inquiry is led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The Police had been instructed to arrest Zuma by the end of Wednesday if he failed to appear at a police station.

Hundreds of his supporters, some of them armed with guns, spears and shields, had gathered nearby at his homestead to try to prevent his arrest.

But in the end, the 79-year-old Zuma decided to go quietly.

“President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order,’’ his foundation said, the first time Zuma’s camp had shown any willingness to cooperate with the court.

It was a remarkable fall for a revered veteran of the African National Congress liberation movement, who was jailed by South Africa’s white minority rulers for his part in its struggle to make everyone equal before the law.

Zuma denied there was widespread corruption under his leadership and he had struck a defiant note on Sunday, lashing out at the judges and launching legal challenges to his arrest.

His lawyers asked the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to suspend its order to the Police to arrest him by midnight pending the outcome of his challenge against a jail sentence.

Zuma gave in to pressure to quit and yield to now-President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018.

He has since faced inquiries into allegations of corruption dating from his time as president and before.

The Zondo Commission is examining allegations that he allowed three Indian-born businessmen, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to plunder state resources and traffic influence over government policy.

He and the Gupta brothers, who fled to Dubai after Zuma was ousted, deny any wrongdoing.

Zuma also faces a separate court case relating to a $2 billion arms deal in 1999 when he was deputy president. He denied the charges.

The former president maintained that he was the victim of a political witch hunt and that Zondo was biased against him.