Publication: Mail and Guardian
Issued:
Date: 2006-02-09
Reporter: Sapa
Reporter:
| Publication |
Mail and Guardian
|
| Date |
2006-02-09
|
|
Reporter
|
Sapa |
|
Web Link
|
www.mg.co.za
|
Judge
Phineas Mojapelo may preside over the rape trial of Jacob Zuma next week, but
the final announcement will only be made on Friday.
An official in the
Johannesburg High Court registrar's office said on Thursday that Mojapelo would
preside over the trial, but an official in Mojapelo's chambers said he could not
confirm this.
The judges in forthcoming trials would be placed on court
notice boards on Friday, he said.
Zuma will go on trial on a charge of
raping a family friend at his home in Forest Town, Johannesburg. He has made
public statements denying the accusation.
Media applications for a place
in the public gallery are being processed this week for the first of the two
trials that Zuma will have to defend himself in this year.
In June he
goes on trial in Durban for corruption relating to the guilty verdict of Schabir
Shaik for corruption and fraud, which Shaik is appealing.
The trials are
expected to generate a vast amount of interest, with them impacting on Zuma's
running for the presidency.
The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust on Wednesday
urged his supporters to gather en masse at the court in his support.
In
his last court appearance in Johannesburg, special arrangements were made for
him to appear ahead of normal proceedings, with the media barred by the
police.
At an application in Durban this week to have seized documents
returned, media access to the court was restricted by Zuma's security
personnel.
After a lawyer acting on behalf of one of the reporters
contacted the judge, they were called into chambers.
The matter was
moved to a larger court and the access permits being issued were dispensed with.
With acknowledgements to Sapa and the Mail &
Guardian.