[I’m watching the Zuma saga with fascination. There is a serious high-level political war going on behind it, and it looks to me as if the communists – the hard core communists – might just be getting the upperhand. The future of S.Africa could rest on the outcome of this.

The Zuma rape trial was conveniently postponed until after the election – no doubt so as to reduce possible damage. Suspicious huh?

I note in some media reports they say how “tough” this judge is. Sometimes I am skeptical of such pronouncements. Last night I saw COSATU, who are hard commie allies of Zuma. Now they screamed racism, when a former Rhodesian judge, Hillary Squires, passed judgement on the Shabir Shaik trial. But here is a white Afrikaner who is set up as the latest judge and COSATU said that they did not have a problem with his race! Strange huh? Suddenly, they’re all calm. Do they know something we don’t? Jan]

Judge Willem van der Merwe will preside over former deputy president Jacob Zuma’s rape trial on Monday.

This comes after Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe acceded to a request that he recuse himself at the start of the trial in February. In explaining that he did not appoint himself, Ngoepe said that in matters of huge public interest the most senior judge is appointed, so he had to preside.

Ngoepe’s recusal was requested on the grounds that he had issued search warrants relating to Zuma’s corruption trial scheduled to be heard in Durban later this year and that this might create the perception of bias.

Ngoepe said that Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo was not available because of personal circumstances, later reported to be ties to Zuma through the liberation struggle.

That left Deputy Judge President Jeremiah Shongwe, who heads the Pretoria High Court. According to a report in The Star newspaper, Zuma fathered a son with Shongwe’s sister 29 years ago. Once Shongwe had recused himself for that reason, onlookers wondered who the judge would be.

Announcing that Van der Merwe would preside, Ngoepe said: “As I have already said, the next most senior judge will preside. That judge happens to be the Honourable Mr Justice Van der Merwe; he will therefore hear the matter.”

Zuma is accused of raping a HIV-positive HIV/Aids activist and family friend at his home in Forest Town in Johannesburg last November.

“There is an understandable huge interest in the matter. I do hope, though, that we will, all of us, allow the trial to unfold in the most appropriate manner that it should; in particular, that the judging will be left to the judge,” Ngoepe said.

“He will, at the end of the trial, give his full reasons which will be made available to the public as usual.”

‘Honk if you love Jacob Zuma’
The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust will sell T-shirts and bumper stickers outside the Johannesburg High Court on Monday when his rape trial begins.

“On Monday we are going to have T-shirts and bumper stickers on sale,” said the acting Gauteng chairperson of the trust, Zobaphi Sithole.

It was not known yet what words would appear on the items.

“People who design things will come up with these things,” Sithole said at a media conference in Johannesburg.

The money raised would go towards Zuma’s legal expenses in his corruption trial to be held in Durban later this year.

When pressed on the matter Sithole could not say whether the money would also go towards covering the expenses of the rape trial. – Sapa

Source: Daily Mail & Guardian
URL: http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/zu…/p>