South Africa's rand fell early on Monday, weighed down by spreading, though sporadic, violence that has followed the jailing of the country's former president Jacob Zuma on contempt of court charges.

At 0620 GMT, the rand traded at 14.3200 against the dollar, 0.83% weaker than its previous close.

"The rand, having posted steady gains going into the close of the week, is this morning trading on the back foot as the effects of the local protests weigh on the local unit; the rand is underperforming its emerging-market peers as a result," analysts at Nedbank wrote in a note.

"Given the prevailing circumstances, any rand strength again is likely to be met with demand for USD."

The unrest had initially mainly been concentrated in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where he started serving his 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Wednesday night. Over the weekend, protests spread to Johannesburg.

The incarceration of Zuma has angered his supporters and exposed rifts within the ruling African National Congress.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday there was no justification for violence and that it was damaging efforts to rebuild the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.