South African president Zuma says he’s not afraid of jail

South African President Jacob Zuma says he is not afraid of going to jail, in a defiant response to critics who say he should resign because of scandals involving alleged corruption.

South African President Jacob Zuma says he is not afraid of going to jail, in a defiant response to critics who say he should resign because of scandals involving alleged corruption.

South African President Jacob Zuma listens at a press conference with President Robert Mugabe in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 3. (Reuters)

Zuma said Saturday in his political stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal province that he has already spent time in prison, referring to the decade he spent behind bars as an anti-apartheid activist during South Africa’s white minority rule, which ended in 1994.

South African media organization EWN is reporting Zuma’s remarks.

Last week, the state watchdog agency released a report indicating possible government corruption linked to Zuma and some associates, and recommended that a judicial commission investigate.

Zuma has criticized the report, saying he wasn’t given a chance to provide “meaningful input” in the investigation.