ANC to grill Zuma
2006-06-04 14:03
Johannesburg - Jacob Zuma must account to the ANC for statements he made during his recent trial for rape, the Sunday Times reported.
The former deputy president is to be summoned to the African National Congress' national executive committee (NEC) to prove his claim that he is the victim of a conspiracy to prevent his succeeding President Thabo Mbeki.
The ANC's chair, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, confirmed to the Sunday Times "that there are a number of issues and questions they (the NEC) want Zuma to explain".
Lekota's statement follows a report presented to the NEC by Public Works Minister Thoko Didiza and former National Assembly speaker Frene Ginwala on Zuma's effect on the party's image and the moral integrity of his statements in court.
One question was how Zuma could have had even consensual sex with a woman who was "a child of the movement (the ANC)".
A member of the NEC who attended its meeting on May 27 said Zuma's request to be excused from the meeting while it discussed his case was a tactic to avoid answering questions.
"He has been acquitted of the rape charge but he does not want to defend his stance. He was clearly running away.
"Zuma has in the past refused to respond to anything relating to his court case, saying the matters were sub judice. He wants to play the victim," the Sunday Times quoted the NEC member as saying.
Zuma will account to five party officials: President Thabo Mbeki, secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe and his deputy Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, treasurer Mendi Msimang, and Lekota.
Zuma will be asked to explain:
why he thought that having a shower after sex with his HIV-positive accuser would reduce his risk of getting Aids;
what he meant when he said his accuser sat "inappropriately" in a miniskirt, and why it was his duty as a man to accommodate her;
his remark that in Zulu culture a man should not leave a woman in a state of arousal lest she accuse him of rape;
his allegations that Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils and former public prosecutions head Bulelani Ngcuka are part of "the anti-Zuma camp".
Lekota declined to say when the party office-bearers would meet Zuma, the Sunday Times reported.
- SAPA
