JOHANNESBURG — A judge in South Africa issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for Jacob Zuma, the former president, for failing to appear in court on a corruption case that he has sought to avoid for months, most recently by asserting that he is ill.

The warrant, requested by the National Prosecuting Authority, does not come into effect until the case resumes on May 6, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Mr. Zuma is said to be in Cuba seeking medical treatment, according to the state broadcaster, but the prosecutor requested his health records be shown as evidence of his claim that he is sick.

One of the prosecutors, Billy Downer, told the Pietermaritzburg High Court that Mr. Zuma’s legal team had said that the former president would be out of the country for treatment until mid-March, local news media reported. According to Mr. Zuma’s team, he had two operations in early January before going abroad. But the judge questioned a letter from a military hospital in the administrative capital, Pretoria, explaining Mr. Zuma’s absence, noting that it had no date.