South Africa

The SA National Editors Forum was consulting editors and lawyers on Wednesday about the media’s exclusion from former deputy president Jacob Zuma’s rape hearing. Reporters were barred from the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, when Zuma was charged with rape. They were also not allowed immediate access to the docket.

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) has denied the charge and suspended his participation in leading structures of the African National Congress.

Jacob Zuma suspended his participation in leading structures of the African National Congress after being charged with rape on Tuesday. Zuma has denied the charges. However, he will remain in the deputy president’s post. ”I wish to state clearly that I am innocent of these charges,” he said.

Any resumption of culling in South Africa’s national parks will have swift and severe repercussions globally, conservationist Lawrence Anthony has warned. ”We believe that more scientific research is needed before any decision is taken. There is not enough research on how many animals the Kruger Park can carry,” he said.

Johannesburg metro police on Monday sealed off all the main entrances and exits into Soweto as part of Operation Enver. ”There’s no way anyone could get through without being searched,” said Inspector Edna Mamonyane. ”Our message to criminals is that they better beware, we’re onto them. By early evening, several arrests had been made, mainly for possession of fraudulent documents.

Eighty-one percent of South Africans living abroad intend to return home eventually, a survey commissioned by Homecoming Revolution has found. Sponsored by First National Bank, Homecoming Revolution is a non-profit organisation encouraging and facilitating South Africans to return home.

African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma on Sunday cited a ”fast modernising society”, self-enrichment, ambition and a quest for power as threats facing the tripartite alliance. Zuma said the quest for economic, social and political power was threatening the foundation on which the liberation movement was built.

The Scorpions have stripped four prominent Johannesburg businessmen of their assets pending charges of theft and money laundering, reported The Star newspaper on Monday. The paper said the four had allegedly syphoned R15-million from Absa Bank in an internet scam.

African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma on Saturday lashed out at the media, accusing them of acting in bad faith, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported. Zuma, who has been indicted on corruption charges, believes there is a conspiracy against him.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has distanced itself from a Mail & Guardian report that Jacob Zuma confessed to senior trade union and communist leaders that he had sex with the woman he is reportedly alleged to have raped.

Four men who allegedly defrauded Absa of R15,4-million last year handed themselves over at the Johannesburg Central police station on Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority said. The men allegedly defrauded Absa in April last year by operating a ”crossfire” or ”kite-flying” scheme.

The Micro Finance Regulatory Council (MFRC) says it is making progress in fighting crooked microlenders as borrowers become increasingly aware of their right. The MFRC’s head of legal services, Jan Augustyn, said raids on and formal investigations into suspect micro lending operations were yielding a better than expected payback.