Publication	The Star
Date	2006-03-17
Reporter	Karyn Maughan, Gill Gifford, Jeremy Gordin
Web Link	www.thestar.co.za

Answer could decide the outcome of bid to have Zuma rape charge quashed

The credibility of Jacob Zuma and his lawyer will be weighed up against that of two of Johannesburg's most senior police officers if Zuma challenges the state's case against him.

If Zuma fails in his expected bid to have the rape case against him thrown out of court, the former deputy president will have to call at least a dozen witnesses to challenge the rape allegation.

The high-profile political figures listed on the state's witness list - including Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils and KwaZulu Natal Finance MEC Zweli Mkhize - appear unlikely to take the stand, after the state said yesterday it did not intend to call further witnesses.

While Kasrils claimed in a statement that he declined to advise the complainant on her security when she phoned him on the day she charged Zuma, it is not clear what Mkhize - who tried to broker a settlement between Zuma and his accuser - told the state.

Judge Willem van der Merwe yesterday postponed the case for four days to allow Zuma's legal team to prepare an as-yet-unconfirmed application for the discharge of the rape count.

It is expected that this Section 174 application, brought when an accused person believes that the state has failed to make a case against him or her, will be bought after prosecutor Charin de Beer officially closes the state's case on Thursday.

If the application fails, Zuma's legal team would be expected to present their case for his defence.

Among the witnesses defence counsel Kemp J Kemp SC indicated he would call are:

Jacob Zuma: He will testify that sex with the complainant was consensual and followed a baby-oil massage. The major difference in his evidence to that of the complainant will relate to where sex took place - Zuma claims it took place in his bedroom; she testified it happened in the guest room.

Duduzile Zuma: The accused's 20-year-old daughter, who was staying at her father's Forest Town, Johannesburg, home at the time, is expected to testify about the events that preceded the incident. According to Kemp, this would include claims that the "inappropriately dressed" complainant asked to be taken to Zuma's study in the hours before the alleged rape.

"Charles": The complainant testified that Charles raped her when she was 13 years old. Although he was convicted of having had sex with a child, Charles will deny having had sex with the complainant.

"Mashaya": The complainant wrote that he raped her when she was 13 year old. She later said he attempted to rape her but stopped because she was menstruating. Kemp said Mashaya would testify that he and the complainant were sexually involved as adults for a number of years.

Two female street committee members: These women, according to Kemp, will claim that the then 13-year-old complainant denied that she was raped after earlier making allegations of sexual abuse against Charles and another man called Godfrey. She allegedly told the women that both men had been her boyfriends.

Dr Louise Olivier: The You magazine "agony aunt" was in court throughout the complainant's testimony and cross-examination, as well as during the evidence by the state's expert psychologist, Dr Merle Friedman. She is expected to challenge Friedman's evidence about the complainant's behaviour during and after the alleged rape incident, as well as the manner in which the complainant was psychologically evaluated.

Kemp has also suggested that he would call Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley to counter police claims that Zuma identified the guest room as the scene of the alleged rape.

The admissibility of these highly incriminating comments seems likely to be challenged as police failed to complete a warning statement about them.

Yesterday, Zuma's defence seemed to take a blow when Police Commissioner Norman Taioe, backed by Detective Superintendent Bafana Peter Linda, claimed the deputy president pointed out the guest room of his home as the scene of the alleged rape and told police that "nothing" had happened in his bedroom.

But Kemp has challenged both Taioe and Linda on their version of what happened at the house and accused them of fabricating Zuma's incriminating comment - which they both failed to officially note.

Kemp yesterday told Linda: "I put it to you that the accused and his lawyer will say that they were not asked to point out or direct you to the alleged scene of the crime."

Linda: I deny that.

Kemp (referring to the question posed to Zuma in his bedroom): The accused was never asked 'What happened here?'

Linda: I deny that - things happened as I described."

Both Linda and Taioe claimed that Taioe told Zuma and Hulley that their visit was a follow-up to a previous meeting with Zuma at Nkandla in KwaZulu Natal.

Kemp suggested that their claim was designed to excuse their failure to warn Zuma of his rights during their Forest Town visit.

It was during the Nkandla visit that Zuma handed police a sworn statement, in which he made no direct reference to having sex with the complainant. The statement said the two had shared "in each other's company privately".