Publication	Sunday Independent
Date	2005-11-27
Reporter	Jeremy Gordin
Web Link	www.sundayindependent.co.za

Jacob Zuma, the former deputy president, expects to be charged with rape, his adviser and friend Mo Shaik said yesterday.

"Obviously, either scenario - that he will be charged or not - remains a possibility until JZ is actually charged or is not. But one could fairly say that we are bracing ourselves for a charge to be made," Shaik said.

A rape complaint was made by a 31-year-old family friend against Zuma on November 4 at Hillbrow police station and the docket has now been forwarded to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for a decision on whether the state will lay charges.

The police have investigated the complaint and DNA tests are being completed on semen found on a piece of the woman's clothing.

Blood has been taken from Zuma to see if his DNA matches that of the semen.

Yesterday, Makhosini Nkosi, the NPA spokesperson, said he could neither confirm nor deny that a charge was imminent.

Another source in the NPA, who did not want to be named, said everyone, especially the media, was "getting a little bit ahead of themselves".

She pointed out that Vusi Pikoli, the NPA director, and Leonard McCarthy, his senior investigator, had been overseas this week and "of course Pikoli is going to want to take a close look at the investigation - how well it was conducted, what the evidence is, and so forth.

"This is not something that anyone is going to rush into lightly. I can't see a decision being made overnight."

Michael Hulley, Zuma's attorney, said it was his understanding that the investigation was not complete and that further work had to be done. "So whether there will be a charge or not does not seem all that imminent to me.

"More importantly, if we say 'Well, maybe we are expecting Zuma to be charged with rape', I really don't want people to construe such a statement as a 'bring it on, we can deal with whatever you have, I want my day in court' type of statement. This is a very serious matter and we are dealing with it seriously."

At his Forest Town home in Johannesburg yesterday, Zuma said via Shaik that he did "not want to offend the media or anyone" but that he had nothing further to say until he was charged or not.