South Africa’s highest court ruled on Monday that former president Jacob Zuma cannot stand as a candidate in next week’s general election on the grounds that a 2021 conviction for contempt of court has disqualified him. The Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma’s sentence of more than 12 months in prison had made him ineligible to stand. His former party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC), suspended Zuma, 82, in January. He has since founded a new party, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and intended to stand as chairman of the party in the May 29 elections. The Constitutional Court ruling revers…