Jacob Zuma will not receive any financial backing for his rape case from The Friends of JZ, a trust fund created by eminent supporters to pay for his legal fees and personal upkeep.

This is according to Don Mkhwanazi, the head of The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust, who insisted on Tuesday that the trust's mandate related only to helping Zuma with legal costs for his corruption trial and his upkeep, but not the rape charge.

"Our position is very clear: we are the friends of JZ because of the way he has been treated (by the Scorpions and the National Prosecuting Authority) in the past five years. The rape charge has nothing to do with us because our mandate is the corruption trial based on the reasons we have stated before.

"It has nothing to do with the rape charges; it has to do with Msholozi (Zuma) versus his corruption trial and his upkeep," Mkhwanazi said.

The Durban businessman, who over the past few months has been busy with a fundraising campaign to help Zuma, also denied that the R20 000 bail paid by Zuma on Tuesday had come from the trust.

"I don't know who paid the bail. I only heard about the court appearance story this morning," he said before adding that "We must commend the police for handing this matter sensitively and speedily, which helps to re-store confidence in the justice system.

"You should not drag an investigation for five years, like it happened before (when the Scorpions investigated the corruption allegations against Zuma and his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik)."

Mkhwanazi also conceded that the rape charge could impede the trust's efforts to galvanise financial support for the former deputy president.

"I would not have wanted this thing to happen because some people might withhold their support for the trust because of the rape allegations.

"But others might still donate because they believe it is part of a conspiracy (to eliminate Zuma from the race to become the ANC's and South Africa's next president). It all depends on what side you are looking at it."

Mkhwanazi stressed that the trust's key members - among them Fikile Majola, the general secretary of the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union, and Sizwe Shezi of the South African Youth Council - were still to meet to discuss the latest developments.

"We are clear about what our mandate is, until the backers of the trust say we must change. But after all, we support Zuma because, even on this rape charge, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty still applies," said Mkhwanazi.

Attempts to get hold of the alleged victim and her mother were unsuccessful, but a friend who did not want to be named described the charges against Zuma as "a positive step" that would encourage rape victims to report the matter to the police.

With acknowledgements to Thokozani Mtshali and The Star.