Jacob Zuma, who was charged with rape in Johannesburg on Tuesday, offered his victim a massage before removing her duvet and violating her, according to the indictment against him.
Zuma (63) denied the charge and suspended his participation in leading structures of the African National Congress after appearing briefly by special arrangement at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
He was released on bail of R20 000 and is expected to plead when he returns to the Johannesburg High Court on February 13 for the start of the trial.
Zuma was charged with rape, ”In that upon or about 2 November 2005… the accused unlawfully and intentionally assaulted…, an adult female and had sexual intercourse with her, without her consent.”
According to the document:
”1. The accused is a family friend of the 31-year-old complainant.
”2. On Wednesday afternoon, 2 November 2005, and following on an invitation by the accused, the complainant went to visit him at his residence in Forest Town.
”3. During the course of the evening he invited her to stay over for the night and indicated a room to her where she could sleep.
”4. Later that evening she retired to the bedroom to sleep.
”5. After some time, and whilst the complainant was sleeping, the accused came to her room and offered her a massage.
”6. After she declined the offer, he removed the duvet that covered her and proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her against her will and without her consent.”
In a statement in which he denied rape, and expressed abhorrence for any form of abuse against women, Zuma announced that he had voluntarily suspended his participation in the leading structures of the ANC for the duration of the trial.
”I wish to state clearly that I am innocent of these charges,” Zuma said.
A separate corruption trial against Zuma will start on July 31, 2006. These charges emanate from the fraud and corruption conviction of his financial adviser Schabir Shaik.
Shaik is appealing the conviction, related to alleged bribery from a company bidding for an arms deal contract.
President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma earlier this year because of the corruption charges.
In his statement Zuma said that he had consistently acted in a manner which protected and upheld the dignity of the ANC, which was why he resigned as a Member of Parliament when Mbeki ”released” him as the country’s deputy president.
Zuma said he had tried to withdraw from leading ANC structures when the corruption charges were brought against him, but this was reversed by the ANC’s national general council in July.
”I have taken this decision mindful of the fact that there is no ANC constitutional imperative which compels me to take such action.
This has been out of my own political consciousness and conviction and in keeping with the respect I have for the people of this country.”
Zuma said that his being charged came after weeks of ”intense and distorted media reports” even before police investigations had begun in earnest. He was deeply disturbed that what was purported to be evidence had been led in the media.
”This has severely influenced public opinion on this matter, causing great prejudice to me.”
Zuma said he respected the court as the appropriate forum to determine the matter.
The ANC said it would issue a comprehensive statement on the matter on Wednesday, after and a meeting of its national working committee on Tuesday night.
It would issue a comprehensive statement on the matter on Wednesday.
The ANC Women’s League said it was saddened that a leader in whom people had put their trust, who had led the Moral Regeneration Movement, was convenor of the SA National Aids Council and deputy president of the ANC had been charged with rape.
Zuma’s court appearance was conducted amid tight security.
The Star reported that police and armed bodyguards prevented the media from entering court nine — despite statements from the chief magistrate and presiding magistrate that the hearing was open.
Presiding magistrate Johan Boudrix said he was surprised to hear the media had been prevented from entering and that there had been no application to have the hearing held in camera, The Star reported.
”I’m not aware of any ruling to prevent the media from attending the case,” the paper quoted the court’s chief magistrate, Gert Jonker, as saying.
Opposition parties called for a speedy conclusion to the trial.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa hoped that Zuma having been charged would end the unsavoury speculation which had characterised this very serious and sensitive matter.
Democratic Alliance MP and justice spokesperson Sheila Camerer said the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to charge Zuma with rape ”must be an indication of the strength of the prima facie case” against him.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions, which has supported Zuma throughout his corruption case, welcomed the rape charge, saying it would put an end to media speculation about the alleged crime.
Innocent until proven guilty
Meanwhile, Mbeki said it was important to stick to the principle that a person should
be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Answering questions about Zuma during a live broadcast on Radio Metro on Tuesday night, he said what had happened to Zuma had been ”somewhat of a burden” in the sense of
the sadness and grief it caused.
”I think that it’s been a heavy year from that point of view, but of course I think we need to sustain the position that we’ve taken that we must respect the principle that everybody’s innocent till proven guilty. It’s indeed important to stick to this principle and not do anything that’s in contradiction to that.”
Asked whether the ANC and its alliance partners had handled the Zuma issue in the best possible way over the past few months, he said that regardless of the outcome of the court case, ”all of us” carried a sense of hurt.
”And so many people, members of the organisation will act in a manner that is driven by that legitimate and very understandable sense of hurt.
”We’ve never had an issue of this kind in the entire history, 93 years, of the ANC. We’ve never had any instance of this kind. And I think that we need to be understanding about the way that people have acted,” he said.
”I think it’s necessary to understand that when all of us as members of the ANC, members who’ve worked with the deputy president for many years, who’ve been led by him under very difficult circumstances some of us, for instance in the years of struggle against apartheid, that when these things happen to him, people want to express a view, a feeling of support and so on.
”And I think we need to appreciate that. It may be expressed in ways that one person or another may not approve of, but I think we need to understand the context.”
Asked about suggestions that he had been ”too silent” on Zuma, he said what was happening were matters that related to the courts.
”My view has been that as part of the process of respecting the independence of the judiciary, on these issues about the rule of law, I think there’s a particular obligation, particularly on the president of the republic, not to say or do anything which might communicate a message of disrespect for these legal, constitutional
processes.”
Some people might very well have wanted him to speak, he said.
”But I really do think that we needed to create maximum space for judicial legal process to go ahead without any feeling or suggestion that there was any intervention by the executive which would seek to influence those decisions and processes in one way or
the other.”
He also said he still believed that his decision to relieve Zuma from the deputy presidency of the country was correct, and would do exactly the same if faced with the choice now. – Sapa