With 30 minutes to go before the start of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma’s second day in the dock at the Johannesburg High Court, support was in short supply — with only 20 supporters in attendance.
By contrast, on Monday, the area set aside for street theatre was filled by between 1 000 and 2 000 pro-Zuma and anti-rape protesters.
Members of a small group of the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust were outnumbered by journalists, photographers, police and about 50 bystanders.
Streets around the Johannesburg High Court were closed again on Tuesday in anticipation of his supporters staging pickets.
”They will reopen to traffic after 4pm,” said metro police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
Zuma stands accused of raping a family friend at his Johannesburg home last November. He has not pleaded in court but has strongly denied the charge in public.
Earlier, Michael Hulley, Zuma’s instructing attorney, refused to confirm or deny that his team would ask Transvaal Deputy Judge President Jerry Shongwe to recuse himself, should he preside over the case.
Approached outside the court for comment, Hulley merely looked at reporters and walked away without speaking.
It was not immediately clear on Tuesday morning if Shongwe, who heads the Pretoria High Court, would preside.
Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe on Monday recused himself following a request from the defence team.
He rejected argument that he might be biased against Zuma, but nevertheless recused himself because he was ”looking past the fears of the accused” and wanted to protect the credibility of the court.
It then emerged that Shongwe was expected to be appointed as the presiding judge.
However, The Star newspaper on Tuesday reported the defence might also ask Shongwe to recuse himself.
The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said the defence had ”difficulties” with Shongwe — apparently because of unspecified personal reasons and the fact that Shongwe had been involved in a Zuma matter relating to his upcoming corruption trial.
News24 reported that Shongwe in 2003 scrapped an urgent application by Zuma to obtain information about the investigation that led to him being charged with corruption and ordered him to pay the state’s legal costs.
Ngoepe said on Monday that the other Deputy Judge President, Phineas Mojapelo, who heads the Johannesburg court, was not available because of personal circumstances.
Zuma’s defence team is to bring an application for an adjournment on Tuesday in order to study additional documents from the state, some of which they said they received only on Monday. These included telephone records and a psychologist’s report. — Sapa