The unrest reflected deeper public anger over staggering income inequality, a sputtering economy and widespread unemployment.
The case against Mr. Zuma has also exposed deep divisions within his party, the African National Congress, which has ruled the nation since apartheid fell in 1994.
His arrest capped the stunning downfall of a once-lauded freedom fighter who fought alongside Nelson Mandela.
On the eve of his imprisonment, Mr. Zuma’s lawyers filed an urgent application to rescind the constitutional court’s decision to jail him for contempt of court.
In his plea, Mr. Zuma said he did not have the financial resources to handle the legal challenges brought by the inquiry and chose instead to focus on the criminal trial that he is also facing. Mr. Zuma is being prosecuted on charges of racketeering, corruption, fraud and money laundering after being accused of taking bribes from a French arms manufacturer when he was deputy president in 1999. That case continues on Sept. 22.
In seeking to avoid jail, Mr. Zuma cited his ill-health and the threat posed by the coronavirus in prison.
Mr. Zuma was released on medical parole on Sept. 5, with the government’s department of correctional services saying it was “impelled by a medical report,” but it provided no details about the nature of his illness.