Publication: The Natal Witness
Issued:
Date: 2005-11-21
Reporter: Adriaan Basson
Reporter: Mandy Rossouw
| Publication |
The Natal Witness
|
| Date |
2005-11-21 |
|
Reporter
|
Mandy Rossouw, Adriaan Basson |
|
Web Link
|
www.witness.co.za
|
Rape
allegation against party deputy president dominates NEC meeting
The confirmation of a rape charge against Jacob Zuma topped the agenda at
an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where senior members demanded that Zuma be suspended from the
party.
The party will hold a media conference in
Johannesburg at 11 am today to announce the decisions taken at the weekend
meeting.
What was supposed to have been an analysis of how the party
could resolve its present problems developed into a political fight about Zuma's
future after Beeld (and Weekend Witness) revealed the case number of the rape
case in which Zuma is implicated.
"The rape case was the main issue in
the meeting - it cannot be ignored any more," said an informed source who was at
the NEC meeting. "Many people in the meeting demanded that Zuma be suspended
after the case number was revealed. Others wanted to wait until more information
is available."
The NEC was supposed to meet on Friday and Saturday at
the Esselen Park conference centre in Kempton Park, but members were still
deeply involved in discussion on Sunday afternoon.
President Thabo Mbeki
postponed a visit by the Nepalese king in order to stay at the meeting. Mbeki
was scheduled to meet the visiting King Gyandendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, but this
meeting was cancelled.
Only some of the NEC members, such as former
education minister Kader Asmal and former parliamentary speaker Frene Ginwala,
left the conference centre before 4 pm.
The aim of the meeting was to
hear a joint report by Zuma and Mbeki about a possible way to address the
internal struggle within the ANC. According to the source, the report didn't
contain any proposals, but was an analysis of the ANC's position. This analysis
was pushed into the background as the discussion centred on the rape case.
Another source, who remained at the meeting until late on Saturday
evening, said the rape case was never on the agenda, and that the only two
contentious issues were the "political survey" from the report and false e-mails
that were being distributed about high-placed members of the ANC, reports Carien
du Plessis.
The rape charge against Zuma received more attention on
Sunday after reports were published that the police are either planning to or
have already obtained blood samples from Zuma for DNA testing.
The
Sunday Times reported that DNA tests were done on the alleged victim's
underwear, and that samples obtained after the alleged rape were taken to the
police's forensic laboratory to be treated as a priority case.
The
Sunday Independent said the police have already requested blood samples from
Zuma.
If DNA other than the complainant's is found in samples taken as
part of a rape investigation, a suspect can volunteer blood samples to the
police or a warrant may be issued for his arrest, thus forcing him to have
samples taken.
The police did not want to confirm the DNA allegations,
and Michael Hulley, Zuma's attorney, could not be reached for comment.
Pressure on the police to officially comment on the case increased on
Sunday, with several newspaper editors and the DA demanding that the police must
come out of hiding and that the public must be informed immediately.
DA
MP Roy Jankielsohn said: "The police must not be allowed to become part of the
cat and mouse games between the Mbeki and Zuma camps in the ANC". With acknowledgements to Mandy Rossouw,
Adriaan Basson and The
Natal Witness.