SOUTH AFRICA: Former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma, who lost his job over the summer following his implication in a corruption scandal involving one of his advisers, was charged with rape yesterday, writes Bill Corcoran in Johannesburg
The charge was officially brought before the Johannesburg magistrates' court following weeks of speculation that he had allegedly raped an Aids activist who was the daughter of a deceased ANC colleague.
The development piles further misery upon the 53-year-old Zulu, who is also facing corruption and fraud charges following the conviction of his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, on the same charges relating to an arms deal.
"After due consideration for the facts in the relevant case docket, the National Prosecuting Authority has decided that Jacob Zuma be arraigned in the Johannesburg magistrate's court on a charge of rape," the prosecuting authority said in a statement.
"To this end, Mr Zuma duly appeared in the Johannesburg magistrates' court today, the 6th of December 2005, where the indictment and related documentation was served on him."
Mr Zuma, released on 20,000 rand (€2,680) bail, has repeatedly denied the rape. His supporters maintain it is part of an smear campaign to damage his chances of becoming the next president of South Africa.
In a statement released yesterday, Mr Zuma said he had decided to step down as deputy president of the ANC party, "given the nature and seriousness of the allegations".
"I wish to state clearly that I am innocent of these charges," he said. "I am deeply disturbed that what is purported to be evidence has been let in the media. This has severely influenced public opinion on this matter, causing great prejudice to me.
"Yet again, as with the corruption case, the media has passed judgment, and this I find truly offensive and regrettable. It has become a trend for the media to disregard our enshrined constitutional rights of the presumption of innocence, dignity and human rights," he concluded.
The ANC had no immediate comment on the court hearing. But the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which has led support for Mr Zuma in the corrution case, made it clear it would not automatically back him this time.
"Cosatu strongly believes that the rape allegations are separate from the corruption charges . . . These are two separate matters and must be treated as such," said Cosatu, which has described the corruption charges against Mr Zuma as politically motivated.
The allegation of rape first surfaced four weeks ago, when newspapers reported that a 31-year-old woman had claimed she was raped at Mr Zuma's house in Forest Town, Johannesburg, in early November.
In the weeks that followed, reports emerged that South African police had taken DNA samples from the alleged rape victim. After receiving the test results, they had recommended that South Africa's former deputy president be charged with rape.
Mr Zuma's rape trial date has been set for February 13th, while his trial on corruption and fraud charges is to begin on July 31st. The latter is expected to run until November.