Zuma fights for his political life

Besieged by angry protesters, a South African court Monday launched the rape trial of former Deputy President Jacob Zuma a man once seen as the likely next leader of Africa's most powerful country.

Zuma, 63, arrived at the Johannesburg High Court as police dressed in riot gear squared off against hundreds of his supporters chanting slogans and dancing in the streets.

Zuma is charged with raping a 31-year-old AIDS activist and longtime family friend in November.

The rape case follows a corruption scandal which last year saw President Thabo Mbeki fire Zuma as his deputy, effectively removing him as the frontrunner to succeed to the presidency in elections in 2009.

Zuma faces a separate corruption trial later this year on the corruption charges, which he has denied and described as a vendetta by opponents in the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

The judge hearing the rape case withdrew yesterday after the defence argued he might appear biased.

Zuma's attorneys had based their request on Judge Bernard Ngoepe having issued a search warrant in an unrelated corruption case against Zuma, saying that could "create the perception" of bias.

A new judge was not immediately named, but it would be one of Ngoepe's two deputies.

Zuma's accuser in the rape trial arrived in court Monday under heavy guard, her face veiled amid official fears for her security.

The young woman did not appear in the courtroom, but her name was on a list of 29 witnesses expected to be called.

Zuma remains widely popular among grassroots ANC members, more than 1,000 of whom turned out yesterday outside the courthouse.

Police formed a protective cordon around a small rival demonstration mounted by anti-rape activists, who clutched banners reading "Rape is Always a Crime" and "Against her will, Against the Law."

High stakes

Political analysts say a guilty verdict in the rape case could see Zuma in jail for many years.

An acquittal, on the other hand, could mark the start of a political resurrection, depending on the outcome of the corruption trial due to start in July.

The graft case could ultimately hinge on the outcome of an appeal by Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, whose trial on corruption charges last year implicated Zuma. Shaik is appealing a 15-year sentence.

The rape charge has deepened ANC divisions which broke into the open over the corruption case, pitting pro-Zuma factions against loyalists gathered around Mbeki.

Both Mbeki and Zuma have repeatedly stressed the ANC remains united and will not be undone by the political ructions caused by Zuma's trials.

But tensions within the party remain high and look likely to sharpen as the ANC prepares to vote next year to pick the person likely to replace Mbeki when he stands down in 2009.

Source: China Daily