"I haven't so far commented on the matter. Talk to my lawyer"

Yesterday's development contradicts denials by the woman in question and Zuma's lawyer that no complaint of sexual violation had been laid with the police.

The Star understands that the complaint was being handled by senior officers and was - like most complaints involving high-profile people - handled discreetly to establish the facts.

The police would only go public once they have established whether the individual has a case to answer.

Police officers at the Johannesburg Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit declined to comment yesterday and would not confirm or deny whether a rape complaint had been lodged.

It was put directly to Zuma last night that The Star had established that a complaint of rape had been laid against him.

"I haven't so far commented on the matter, and I am not going to now. I think you had better talk to my lawyer," Zuma said.

Zuma's lawyer, Michael Hulley, said he was unable to make any comment until he had spoken to his client this morning.

It is also believed that Zuma and KwaZulu Natal MEC for Economic Affairs Zweli Mkhize had met at the weekend with the complainant's mother in KwaZulu Natal to discuss the rape allegation.

But when this was also put to him, Zuma again declined to comment and pointed out only that the alleged complainant had previously told Independent Newspapers she had not laid a complaint and had not been raped.

The Star also established yesterday that the complainant had confided to a friend - who is employed by the state - about what had happened on the night of November 3.

Zuma's meeting with the mother was apparently part of a massive damage-control exercise launched by his camp. 

The complainant's mother is an old friend of Zuma and the widow of a senior ANC comrade who died in exile in Zimbabwe.

The meeting between Zuma and the complainant's relatives took place in KwaMashu township, outside Durban.

In another development, the woman's mother flew to Johannesburg yesterday from Kwazulu Natal to speak to her daughter.

The Star traced the complainant's mother to a hotel near the Johannesburg International Airport. By last night, she had checked out of the hotel.

The mother is understood to be keen for an amicable settlement, while the daughter, believed to be in protective custody, wants the complaint pursued.

Mkhize, a Zuma confidant, has emerged as a broker between Zuma and the family, and is believed to have paid for the mother's trip to Johannesburg.

Mkhize's spokesperson, Alex Mtshiyane, said last night Mkhize had "no knowledge of the situation" and referred all queries to the ANC's national office.

Meanwhile, the ANC's national working committee (NWC) yesterday moved to dismiss reports that Zuma and President Thabo Mbeki had failed to resolve their differences.

The NWC yesterday received and discussed a joint report of Mbeki and Zuma, as mandated by the ANC national executive committee (NEC) on September 9.

"Media reports to the effect that there were differences between the president and deputy president on the substance of the report are false and without basis," the NWC said after its meeting.

The meeting was attended by four of the ANC's six top national officials, including Mbeki, Zuma, secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe and treasurer-general Mendi Msimang.

The meeting came after Zuma appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court at the weekend in connection with his corruption case and in the wake of the rape allegation against him.

A source who attended the meeting said the NWC never discussed Zuma or the rape allegation.

However, it is believed the brewing tensions between the Zuma and Mbeki camps will boil over at the ANC's NEC meeting at the weekend.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions yesterday criticised the media for publishing the rape claim against Zuma from "faceless sources" *1.

"There can be no worse violation of human rights than this," the union federation said.

With acknowledgements to The Star.