South Africa: Rape accuser 'too frightened' to say no to deputy president
The old family friend who accused former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma of rape today testified that she was too frightened to resist the alleged attack.
Zuma, the man most South Africans expected to become the next president of South Africa, has acknowledged having sex with the woman, a 31-year-old HIV-positive Aids activist, but insists it was consensual.
During her second day of cross examination, the woman told Defence Attorney Kemp J Kemp that she was too scared to say stop, resist or call out for help. “I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything,” she said.
The woman said she told Zuma to stop several times while he was massaging her before the alleged rape.
The woman, who has known Zuma since she was five, has testified that Zuma entered her room while she was sleeping at his house on November 2 and raped her.
Before he was accused of rape and unrelated corruption charges, Zuma was a widely popular politician in the ruling party and the man expected to succeed President Thabo Mbeki when his term expires in 2009.
