Legal expert Paul Hoffman said the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma would only be determined after the Constitutional Court has heard his case.

The court agreed to hear Zuma’s application for a rescission of its contempt ruling against him.

It issued a directive today stating that it would hear the matter on 12 July.

Zuma was due to hand himself over at the Westville Correctional Facility on Sunday, failing which police had three days to arrest him.

He was sanctioned for failing to return and give testimony at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

The former president filed an urgent application on Friday, calling on the court to revise its decision to have him incarcerated arguing that the ruling was granted in his absence and that the court must assess whether it acted within the bounds of the country’s Constitution.

Hoffman said this has bought Zuma some time: “The ruling that he should go to prison will be reconsidered on the 12th. Until it is reconsidered, it is not fair to him to expect him to go and sit in jail for a week or two”.