Jacob Zuma gave his daughter Duduzile the thumbs-up during a brief break in his rape judgement in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday.
Zuma, who was jailed for 10 years on Robben Island as a political prisoner, was in good spirits.
He greeted court officials warmly, waved to his supporters in the public gallery and even shook hands with the two police officers — Superintendent Peter Linda and Assistant Commissioner Norman Taioe — who investigated the complaint against him.
Zuma wore a dark suit, a pale blue shirt and a red tie with white flecks. At times he blew into a white pocket handkerchief.
He was flanked by at least 10 bodyguards at all times.
In contrast to his own clothes, directly behind him sat three members of his Msholozi clan, braving the fierce court air conditioning in traditional animal-skin attire.
Photographers’ shutters whirred during the break, capturing Zuma’s every nuance and gesture as he spoke animatedly with some of the stalwarts of the 26-day trial.
Judge Willem van der Merwe began his judgement with a reference to the wide publicity the rape trial has received.
He said he tried to ignore this coverage, but was not always able to avoid it.
Some organisations and groups sought to gain mileage out of the trial, he said. These included the ”doomed” attempt of three groups who made an attempt to become friends of the court, giving them an opportunity to make the world aware of their existence.
Van der Merwe said NGOs, politicians and the media sometimes breached the sub-judice rule.
It is disconcerting that the accused was found guilty by some before the evidence was presented.
The bombardment of the court was unacceptable, said the judge. He quoted a columnist as saying the trial was more about sexual politics and gender relations that it was about rape.
Van der Merwe expressed the hope that the television coverage of the event — which he said he was reluctant to allow — will serve as an educational tool.
Strict security arrangements at Court 4E saw angry exchanges at the entrance, with only accredited media members and a limited number of the public allowed in.
As the judge’s lengthy summation of the evidence continued, Zuma’s five lawyers and the three state prosecutors listened intently, occasionally making notes.
The court interpreter and other court officials, including the woman tasked with topping up water flasks, listened carefully as Van der Merwe went through the main points of the testimonies he had heard.
Unwilling to lose their coveted seats, members of the gallery shuffled and some were seen nodding off at times.
The woman who laid the charge was not seen in the court, but a bench reserved for her family and supporters was full, mostly with people from the One in Nine rape awareness campaign.
Crowd support
Meanwhile, the crowd supporting Zuma outside the court grew with an influx of schoolchildren in the early afternoon. One group ran along the pavement in Pritchard Street, carrying a poster of the Sowetan newspaper reading: ”Zuma will walk — Schabir”.
By 1.30pm, more than 2 500 people were gathered in Kruis Street, singing, dancing and displaying placards. Within the crowd were three empty circles that individuals entered to dance.
A woman dressed in Xhosa traditional attire, including face painting, who had earlier burnt mphepho (herbs), walked through the crowd, discussing the rape case against the former deputy president. Euginia Yantsho broadcast the individual conversations through a loud-hailer she was carrying.
A block away, in downtown Johannesburg, a trader who had obviously read the market well was selling the loud-hailers.
As the atmosphere in the crowd became more electric, an old man dressed in a colourful mixture of traditional Zulu garb and coloured ostrich feathers on his head became the centre of attention. He danced with a Bible in one hand and a knobkerrie in the other.
At one point the mob broke through a police barricade. Order was restored within minutes.
This happened shortly after a protester had shouted at police officers: ”If they are out of uniform, they would also be supporting Zuma.” — Sapa