Jacob Zuma's sexual encounter with his rape accuser lasted 15 minutes - and he called her "delicious".

This was all that the former deputy president's legal team revealed of their client's version during a full day's cross-examination of the 31-year-old HIV/Aids activist in the Johannesburg High Court.

It appears that Zuma's account of the alleged rape is so different from that of his accuser that his legal team have chosen to reveal it only after grilling the woman, who has testified that she saw Zuma as a "father figure".

Zuma's lawyers have also yet to challenge his accuser's allegations that he had sex with her without a condom - even though he had known for six years that she was HIV-positive.

Zuma has pleaded not guilty to rape.

Instead of directly challenging the woman on the details of the sexual encounter on November 2 last year, Zuma's counsel, Kemp J Kemp SC, questioned the complainant on what he presented as contradictions and improbable statements in her evidence.

Referring to her admission that she had not once said "no" during the alleged rape, or fought Zuma off, Kemp suggested Zuma could have reasonably believed she was a willing participant in their sexual interlude.

Responding that she was in a "daze" after seeing a naked Zuma in her bedroom, the woman said her response had been to "freeze".

"But he (Zuma) could have thought that you were not objecting to the process (of sex)?"

"He could have," she answered, after twice claiming she had been "s***-scared".

Arguing that the complainant was aware that one of the "difficulties" in her case was her failure to indicate that she objected to Zuma's sexual advances, Kemp suggested she had altered her evidence to imply she had been forced into the sex.

He cited several allegations in her testimony not contained in her statement to police two days after the alleged incident:

l The complainant had testified that Zuma had told her that being HIV-positive did not mean she did not have "physical needs".

Kemp described this remark as "expressly" sexual, and said she must have known it indicated sexual interest on Zuma's part.

l The complainant alleged that Zuma had held her hands above her head with one hand at the beginning of the rape encounter, and then pinned her hands down with both his hands.

According to Kemp, these claims helped to paint a picture of what he described as a consensual sexual encounter.

He said that in an SMS to women whom she described as her "sisters" in the hours after the alleged rape, she ended a message with the words "the mothers must not know".

The complainant replied that at that time she had not planned to charge Zuma with rape.

Kemp asked whether alleging rape was "not an easy way of avoiding the fallout" of admitting that, as an educated HIV activist, she had unprotected sex.

Focusing on what he described as the "political influences" of the rape charge, Kemp asked: "Would it surprise you if (Zuma's) first reaction was to say that there were some political forces at play in your rape allegation?"

"I don't want to answer that (if I can be allowed not to answer)," she answered, addressing her query to Mr Justice Willem van der Merwe.

It was the first question put to her by Kemp that she had refused to answer.

Late yesterday, she revealed that an offer of compensation Zuma had made to her could have included payment of tuition fees for her studies in Britain. She had been asking Zuma to assist her with this for some time.

The woman testified that her mother had told her of the compensation offer after a discussion with KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Zweli Mkhize.

With acknowledgement to Karyn Maughan, Gill Gifford and Cape Argus.