Publication: Sapa Issued: Johannesburg Date: 2005-11-19 Reporter: Sapa

Newspaper Reports Zuma Rape Case Number

 

Publication 

Sapa
BC-ZUMA

Date

2005-11-19

Issued

Johannesburg

Reporter

 Sapa

 

A rape case is reportedly being investigated against Jacob Zuma, and a daily newspaper has published the case number.

Beeld newspaper reported on Saturday that the case number is 312/11/2005, and the complainant was not about to withdraw the charge against the former deputy president.

According to Beeld the complainant is a 31-year-old HIV-positive Aids activist who regarded Zuma as a father figure. The charge was laid on November 4 at the Hillbrow police station, a day after the alleged offence took place at Zuma's house in Forest Town, Johannesburg.

Zuma's supporters have dismissed the rape allegation -- which first surfaced in the Sunday Times last week -- as part of a plot to prevent Zuma becoming president in 2009 when President Thabo Mbeki retires.

Beeld wrote that a police officer -- whom they did not identify -- had confirmed that the charge had been laid and was being investigated.

A source in the SA police service said the case was being investigated by Superintendent Peter Linda, head of the Johannesburg family violence, child abuse and sexual offences unit. Linda became famous for his detective work in the case of South Africa's most notorious serial rapist, Fanwell Khumalo.

Linda, however, declined to confirm that he was investigating such a case.

Beeld said it had reliably learned that the complainant in the Zuma case had a nervous breakdown after news of the rape allegation was published in the media. Apparently she was raped some years before, and became HIV-positive.

According to the source, the woman had considered withdrawing the charge, and that is why she apparently told a newspaper that she had not been raped, and denied laying a charge against Zuma.

The source has confirmed that the complainant is in police protection while the investigation proceeds.

The complainant's mother was in Swaziland when she heard of the incident. She flew to Durban where she apparently advised her daughter to drop the case, but could not perused her to do so.

Beeld's source said that the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for finance, Zweli Mkhize, one of Zuma's confidants, paid for the mother's aeroplane flight.

Mkhize's spokesman, however, has denied knowing anything about the allegations.

Zuma's attorney, Michael Hulley, was not available for comment, but had previously repeatedly denied the rape allegation.

With acknowledgement to Sapa.