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Zuma upbeat during break
08/05/2006 13:05 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Jacob Zuma gave his daughter Duduzile the thumbs-up during a brief break in his rape judgment in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday.
The judgment could free him or send him to prison.
Zuma, who did 10 years on Robben Island as a political prisoner, was in good spirits.
He greeted court officials warmly, waved to his supporters in the public gallery and even shook hands with the two policemen - Superintendent Peter Linda and Assistant Commissioner Norman Taioe - who investigated the complaint against him.
Zuma wore a dark suit, a pale blue shirt and a red tie with white flecks. At times he blew into a white pocket handkerchief.
He flanked by at least 10 bodyguards at all times.
In contrast to his own clothes, directly behind him sat three members of his Msholozi clan, braving the fierce court air conditioning in traditional animal skin attire.
Photographers' shutters whirred during the break, capturing Zuma's every nuance and gesture as he spoke animatedly with some of the stalwarts of the 26-day trial.
Judge Willem van der Merwe began his judgment with a reference to the wide publicity the rape trial had received.
He said he had tried to ignore this coverage, but had not always been able to avoid it.
Some organisations and groups had sought to gain mileage out of the trial, he said.
These included the "doomed" attempt of three groups who made an attempt to become friends of the court, giving them an opportunity to make the world aware of their existence.
Van der Merwe said non-government organisations, politicians and the media had sometimes breached the sub-judice rule.
Sexual politics and gender relations
It was disconcerting that the accused had been found guilty by some before the evidence had even been presented.
The bombardment of the court was unacceptable, said the judge. He quoted a columnist as saying the trial was more about sexual politics and gender relations that it was about rape.
Van der Merwe expressed the hope that the television coverage of the event - which he said he had been reluctant to allow - would serve as an educational tool.
Strict security arrangements at Court 4E saw angry exchanges at the entrance, with only accredited media members and a limited number of the public allowed in.
As the judge's lengthy summation of the evidence continued, Zuma's five lawyers and the three State prosecutors listened intently, occasionally making notes.
The court interpreter and other court officials, including the woman tasked with topping up water flasks, listened carefully as Van der Merwe went through the main points of the testimonies he had heard.
Unwilling to lose their coveted seats, members of the gallery shuffled and some were seen nodding off at times.
The woman who laid the charge was not seen in the court, but a bench reserved for her family and supporters was full, mostly with people from the One in Nine rape awareness campaign.
Judgment continues.
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