Jacob Zuma’s daughter did not want the woman he allegedly raped to spend the night at Zuma’s Johannesburg house last year as she had an ”uneasy feeling” about the woman.
Dudzile Zuma (23) told the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday ”I got an uneasy feeling about her … something about her just wasn’t sitting right with me.”
Dudzile Zuma said she arrived at her father’s house on the evening of November 2 2005, the night of the alleged rape.
She said she was irritated when she saw the accuser in the house because ”I knew she was probably there to sponge money off my dad … everyone does that.”
She said that evening Zuma, his daughter, the accuser and a friend all had supper together.
Once they had finished eating, Dudzile Zuma and the complainant washed the dishes and the woman started telling her about a show she had watched at the Civic Theatre which was close to her house.
Dudzile Zuma testified she then offered the complainant a lift home and the woman accepted.
Shortly afterwards, Zuma asked his daughter if she could give his friend who was visiting a lift home. A woman who was supposed to have picked the woman friend up was not able to do so anymore.
Dudzile Zuma said while they watched the popular Generations TV soap opera, she started feeling tired and said to the two women she would take them home.
She left the TV room to collect her car keys and handbag and, when she reached the top of the stairs, she heard the accuser tell her father ”I always carry a tooth brush and panty in my bag”.
Dudzile Zuma told defence counsel Jerome Vaughn she was not sure of the context of the remark, but said she was not happy ”because by that time I definitely knew she was up to something”.
Vaughn asked her what she thought the accuser was up to, and Dudzile Zuma replied she thought the woman was ”trying to spend the night”.
When Dudzile Zuma returned downstairs and said she was ready to take the two home, the complainant told her ”I am going to spend the night”.
Dudzile Zuma told the court she was protective over her father and that there was ”something about her” [the complainant] that made her uneasy.
Zuma denies the rape charge but says he and the complainant had sex by consent.
Zuma excused from the stand
Earlier, prosecutors wrapped up their cross-examination of the former deputy president.
”I put it to you that you went back to the guest room that night to rape her while she was fast asleep,” state prosecutor Charin de Beers asked Zuma.
”You raped her regardless her three ”no’s” and her body language that she was clearly not consenting. You held her hand throughout the rape, you spoke to her during the rape to get her attention as her behaviour and body language bothered you,” de Beers said.
Zuma denied all of this. ”That is not true,” he said.
He also answered a few questions from his own counsel, Kemp J Kemp, including one on whether he is circumcised.
Then both sides said they had no further questions to ask him. As he left the witness box, spectators in the public gallery were heard to mutter ”About time” and ”Siyabonga [thank you]”.
He had been testifying since Monday. ‒ Sapa-AFP