Publication: Sapa Issued: Johannesburg Date: 2005-11-13 Reporter: Fienie Grobler

Zuma Rejects Report o Sex Charge

 

Publication 

Sapa
LD-ZUMA

Date

2005-11-13

Issued

Johannesburg

Reporter

 Fienie Grobler

 

Axed deputy president Jacob Zuma, who lost his job in post-apartheid South Africa's biggest graft scandal, on Sunday rejected a newspaper report claiming he sexually assaulted a family friend.

The Sunday Times paper reported that "top investigators" had been assigned to probe a complaint that he sexually assaulted a woman, an old family friend. But another newspaper, the Sunday Independent, quoted the alleged victim vehemently denying the claim.

"He rejects it very, very strongly, yes," his lawyer Michael Hulley told AFP.

The Sunday Independent, citing people close to Zuma, said the claims were part of a disinformation campaign against him, a theme that has repeated itself in the corruption case against the immensely popular politician.

Asked to respond to claims of a disinformation campaign, Hulley replied: "I would say it invites that inference.

"There is no confirmation from the South African Police Service or the prosecuting authorities and a denial from the complainant.

That for me is conspicuous," Hulley said.

National police spokeswoman Sally de Beer declined to say whether a charge had been brought against Zuma.

"It is completely against our policy to name a suspect in a case," she told AFP. "The media has named a person. I'm not prepared to confirm it. The South African Police Service cannot name a suspect unless they're charged in court." The Sunday Times said police had assigned senior investigators to look into the allegations and had placed the woman under protection.

"The alleged victim ... has laid a complaint with the police that she was sexually assaulted by Zuma on Wednesday night last week," said the newspaper.

Hulley said Zuma was "obviously reviewing legal recourse" against the paper.

The Sunday Independent said a number of newspapers had been given "information" that a rape charge had been laid against Zuma, and quoted a denial of the sexual assault charge by the alleged victim.

"I have no idea where these stories come from. My family have long been friends with Zuma and I often stay (at his home)," Fezekile Khuzwayo, 31, said. "And I have repeatedly said that none of this has happened to me."

Zuma appeared briefly in a Durban courtroom on Saturday to formally receive an indictment on two charges of corruption, relating to alleged irregularities in a multi-billion-dollar government arms deal.

He allegedly arranged a bribe with local subsidiaries of French arms company Thales in return for protecting the company during a state investigation into suspected irregularities.

Zuma was charged with graft after a court found his financial advisor guilty of corruption. The advisor, Schabir Shaik, was found guilty of facilitating Zuma's bribe, and also paying Zuma to use his political clout to rope in lucrative deals for Shaik's company.

President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma in June after the guilty verdict against his financial advisor, and shortly after that the National Prosecuting Authority announced that it would charge the former deputy president with corruption.

Zuma's case has caused divisions within the ruling African National Congress (ANC), with Zuma's mainly grassroots and leftist supporters saying it is a political conspiracy by the ANC elite to block his path to the presidency.

Before the corruption saga, Zuma was the front-runner to succeed Mbeki when he steps down after two office terms in 2009.

With acknowledgements to Fienie Grobler and Sapa.