SA braces for verdict in Zuma rape trial

JOHANNESBURG – A South African judge is to deliver a much-awaited verdict today that could seal the downfall of former deputy president Jacob Zuma, accused of raping a young HIV-positive woman.

Once the frontrunner to succeed President Thabo Mbeki, Zuma has maintained that he had consensual sex with the 31-year-old woman, the daughter of a family friend, at his upmarket Johannesburg home on November 2. But the alleged victim testified that the former number two, whom she considered a father figure, raped her in the guest room of his house, pinning her arms to the bed and forcing himself on her after she said “no” three times.The most sensational trial of the post-apartheid era has stirred debate on such explosive issues as the battle for the presidency and AIDS in a country where one in seven adults is living with HIV.It has also trained a spotlight on sexual violence in South Africa, where a woman is raped every 26 seconds, according to People Opposing Women Abuse, a non-governmental organisation.Highlighting the huge public interest that the three-month trial has drawn, the verdict pronounced by Judge Willem van der Merwe will be broadcast live on all major television and radio stations, beginning at 9am.A guilty verdict could put Zuma behind bars for up to 15 years and knock one of the most charismatic politicians out of the race for the presidency when Mbeki steps down after his final term ends in 2009.An acquittal could revive Zuma’s presidential ambitions even though his troubles are far from over.He is to go on trial again in July for corruption.Only a year ago, Zuma seemed destined to lead the nation, following in the footsteps of Mbeki and Nelson Mandela, who as leaders of the African National Congress, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, presented impeccable credentials.His political fortunes plummeted when Mbeki fired him from his post as deputy president after his financial adviser was convicted of corruption.- Nampa-AFPBut the alleged victim testified that the former number two, whom she considered a father figure, raped her in the guest room of his house, pinning her arms to the bed and forcing himself on her after she said “no” three times.The most sensational trial of the post-apartheid era has stirred debate on such explosive issues as the battle for the presidency and AIDS in a country where one in seven adults is living with HIV.It has also trained a spotlight on sexual violence in South Africa, where a woman is raped every 26 seconds, according to People Opposing Women Abuse, a non-governmental organisation.Highlighting the huge public interest that the three-month trial has drawn, the verdict pronounced by Judge Willem van der Merwe will be broadcast live on all major television and radio stations, beginning at 9am.A guilty verdict could put Zuma behind bars for up to 15 years and knock one of the most charismatic politicians out of the race for the presidency when Mbeki steps down after his final term ends in 2009.An acquittal could revive Zuma’s presidential ambitions even though his troubles are far from over.He is to go on trial again in July for corruption.Only a year ago, Zuma seemed destined to lead the nation, following in the footsteps of Mbeki and Nelson Mandela, who as leaders of the African National Congress, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, presented impeccable credentials.His political fortunes plummeted when Mbeki fired him from his post as deputy president after his financial adviser was convicted of corruption.- Nampa-AFP