Zuma night of oil, massage, sex
2006-04-03 23:18
Johannesburg - Jacob Zuma finally got to tell his side of the story at his rape trial on Monday in an account that included baby oil, endearments and talk of marriage.
He also told Johannesburg High Court that if he had turned her down on realising neither had a condom, according to Zulu culture he, himself, would have been accused of rape "for leaving her in that situation".
The former deputy president described to the court in Zulu how he had sex with the woman who has accused him of raping her on November 2 at his Johannesburg home.
Wearing a dark suit, white shirt and maroon tie, he clasped and unclasped his hands as he spoke, addressing Judge Willem van der Merwe with the Zulu honorific "Nkosi Yenkantolo".
He said the woman was at his home on the night of November 2 because of a family crisis involving a child being bitten by a snake in Swaziland.
Asleep, sucking her thumb
In the course of the visit, she had said she wanted to talk to him about something, saying he must even wake her up if necessary.
When he went to the room, he found her asleep, sucking her thumb. He woke her up and told her to go to his bedroom where they would discuss the matter.
Once there she sat on the bed because there was no chair, while he leaned against a pillow on the other side of the bed.
They spoke about the family crisis and she complained of getting cold and asked if she could get under the duvet and he said it was okay.
He realised the discussion was going to take some time.
"I was on the bed leaning on the pillow. I then said to myself, 'she has come to the study (earlier) with only a kanga and she comes to my room with a kanga. And she has got under the duvet, and maybe she won't have any problem if I take off my clothing'," said Zuma.
Described his impressions
"I got up, took off my clothes and put on my pyjamas with short pants. I got under the bedding.
"I got the impression that she would not have any problem if I took off my clothes and I suspected this must be something... this is an indication because I would have expected her to object to my taking off clothes in her presence and she didn't say anything."
While he was under the blanket waiting for her to tell him what she needed to discuss, she complained her body was sore and asked for a massage and he fetched some baby oil from the bathroom.
When he returned she was lying on her stomach. He started massaging her shoulders and she loosened her kanga so that he could get to her shoulders.
'Was not wearing her kanga'
He removed the kanga towards her rear and saw she was not wearing panties. "So I got it into me that she was after something."
She asked him to massage her legs and her front.
"Once I had finished, she said 'thank you'," said Zuma.
He took the baby oil back to the bathroom and washed his hands.
When he returned she was covered with the duvet.
He got under the duvet and noticed that she was not wearing her kanga. She put her arm over him.
"I then touched her as well. She also responded, my lord. I then realised, well, this is the situation. There is nothing more.
Hesitated a bit
"I then got up and took off my pyjamas. When I came back, I got under the duvet and she covered me with her arm and leg."
They touched and kissed and he asked her if she had a condom. "She said 'no' and I didn't either.
"At that stage, I hesitated a bit because I knew if things were like this what would happen. I also thought very quickly what the result would be.
"She said, 'you can't just leave a woman if she is ready'. And I said to myself that I knew as we grew up in the Zulu culture that you didn't just leave a woman in that situation.
"Because, if you did, then she will even have you arrested and say that you are a rapist."
They then had sexual intercourse.
"I said you are delicious, you are a real woman... she laughed.
"At that stage, I remember asking her: 'How do you feel?' She said 'fine, very fine'."
Went and showered
He also asked her if he could ejaculate inside her. She did not respond, just smiled.
He said that women were different, some would answer this question and others would not.
Zuma did ejaculate inside her and afterwards went to his bathroom and showered. He returned to the bedroom to find her gone.
She was in the guest room. "I asked her how was it. She said: 'No fine'."
They discussed transport arrangements and she replied that she would leave about 07:00 for nearby Jan Smuts Avenue from where she would catch a taxi.
Could easily push him away
They kissed each other and bade each other goodbye.
Zuma told the court his accuser was an assertive and independent woman.
If she did not like something, she would say it.
Asked if he knew whether she could put up a strong physical resistance, Zuma replied: "If she did not want it, she would easily push me away. I know her."
Zuma said that during a subsequent meeting with two women, whom his accuser referred to as "aunts", they asked him if he was willing to start lobola negotiations.
He said they told him it looked like a "love relationship".
They said: "You'd better marry her", and asked if it would not be better if lobola negotiations were initiated.
"The very lobola issue was discussed at length."
Tells of his Aids knowledge
He told the court he did not think he placed his rape accuser at risk of HIV/Aids or any other sexually transmitted disease by not using a condom.
He said that, because he was chairperson of the Aids Council, he was expected to have a wide knowledge of the disease.
Without directly asking Zuma his own HIV-status, his lawyer, Kemp J Kemp, asked if he thought the woman was at any risk having sex with him.
"No, she was not at risk."
Explaining why he did not mention sex in his statement to police, Zuma said his lawyer Michael Hulley instructed him to leave it out.
He denied an exchange with police in which he is alleged to have pointed out the guest room as the "scene of the crime".
The trial continues.
- SAPA