/ 26 April 2006

Zuma’s accuser would have used condom

Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser would not have had consensual sex with him without a condom, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Wednesday.

State prosecutor Charin de Beer said the HIV-positive woman had been adamant in her testimony that she would have used a condom.

Reasons given were that she could have been reinfected with the virus, pass it on to someone else, or be infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

On November 2 last year, when Zuma allegedly raped the woman at his Johannesburg house, De Beer said the woman did not know what his HIV status was, or if he had an STD.

Zuma says they had consensual sex.

De Beer was giving closing arguments in the trial which started last month.

She said another reason the woman would not have had consensual sex with Zuma was because she was bisexual, but had lesbian leanings.

Before November 2, the last time the woman had had sex with a man was in July 2004 and, before that, in 1999.

Judgement to be broadcast

Earlier on Wednesday, Primedia Broadcasting and e.tv were granted permission to broadcast the judgement, Willem van der Merwe said.

He had granted the request after speaking to a number of colleagues about the matter. He said if any other radio or television station wanted to broadcast the judgment, they should contact e.tv or Primedia to make sure there would be as little

disruption as possible.

Primedia includes 702 Talk Radio and CapeTalk.

Zuma’s defence focused on her alleged history of making false rape claims, backed by testimony from a number of ministers of religion.

The state relied on testimony from a trauma specialist to explain why she did not resist the alleged attack.

The case has generated a vast amount of interest and has in some quarters been called a conspiracy to remove the former deputy president from the running for the presidency. – Sapa