ZUMA TRIAL – a REpresenter tells us what he thinks.
Thanks to the young RichieRich in Durban for sending us this article on the ZUMA
trial which has filled the papers for the last few weeks…. What do our readers
think? Do most think that his “shower” sentence was his undoing? Or is he a
suitable candidate for vice-president? Let us know your thoughts!
Monday the 8th of May 2006 will go down in history books throughout South
Africa and abroa…
d when Judge Justice Willem Van der Merwe acquitted former
deputy president Jacob Zuma on all charges of rape after he “allegedly”
raped a 31 year old family friend at his house in New Forest Town in
Johannesburg on November the second last year.
After 26 days of vicious courtroom drama friendships have been broken and
enemies been made. Zuma (64) a member of the African National Congress (
ANC) is seen by many as a so called “war hero” after apartheid days and
being on “the ground” unlike his counterpart President Thabo Mbeki, Zuma
joined the military wing of the ANC and actively participated in protests
and demonstrations against the then apartheid government.
Many have questioned the steps to contracting HIV/AIDS after Zuma
testified that he had taken a “shower” after engaging in sexual
intercourse with an HIV positive lesbian to reduce the risk of
Contracting HIV, while hundreds of South Africans have called the
National Aids Helpline questioning such a statement. His testimony in the
Johannesburg High Court also revealed that Mr. Zuma knows very little
about HIV/AIDS prevention, bearing in mind his former leadership role of
the South African National Aids Council. Sadly as some say that the
governments HIV/AIDS “ABC” prevention campaign has now gone unheard of
and ignored while others say that it had now become “ABCS” standing for
the Abstinence, Befaithful,Condomise and Shower.
A split has emerged between and within the ANC with divisions beginning in
July last year when President Thabo Mbeki faced a challenging decision
over Zuma’s drop of active duty and relieved him of party work. The ANC’s
Youth League taking a different stance by ignoring ANC directive officials
ordering that all demonstrations in support of Mr. Zuma should be
co-ordinated and “monitored “through the general secretary. They have
continued to support Zuma during the rape trial with a vociferous manner
outside the high Court in Johannesburg. Zuma’s supporters in COSATU
(Congress of South African Trade Unions) have fallen silent since the rape
charges were brought against him, but have continued to support him
through his corruption charges set later this year, labeling it as a
“Political Conspiracy”. Zuma’s Legal team rested largely on the fact that
the sex with the complainant was consensual and that it was against Zuma’s
culture as a Zulu to leave a women in a state of arousal ignoring the role
of duties as a man. The Defences argument ended with Jacob Zuma’s advocate
Kemp J Kemp saying that “If there was a bucket filled with HIV fluid and a
Kruger rand coin at the bottom … and someone dips their hand into the
bucket to get the Kruger rand coin- no one except a complete moron will
not go and wash his hands afterwards”
The trial has sparked fury and anger among women’s rights groups across
all cultures including organizations such as the Cosatu women’s wing
taking a more active stance on women’s rights and sexual violence.
Some say that they saw no harm in Mr. Zuma having taken a shower to reduce
the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, however next time maybe he should do it
before the event and have made it a cold one just to wake him up a bit.
Now please don’t get me wrong here Mr. Zuma has just been acquitted and
found not guilty on all his charges of rape so therefore he is a freeman
and has the right to do whatever he chooses to do. Some saying that he
definitely should have had his “timeshare” in “Chuki” with others saying
that friction will arise among anti-rape activists and women’s rights
groups fearing for the complainants safety see as though up until now she
has been provided with police protection with some questioning whether
this will continue. After all as the old saying goes “Innocent People Die
in War”
