Case against Zuma's son dropped

2000-12-19 20:13

Empangeni - Rape and assault charges were withdrawn against Mziwoxolo Zuma, son of Deputy President Jacob Zuma, in the Mtunzini Magistrates' Court on Tuesday on the instructions of a regional court, the controlling prosecutor said.

Mduduzi Mzila said he received instructions to withdraw the charges as the regional prosecuting authority had decided there was "no case".

Zuma briefly appeared on Tuesday morning to hear that charges had been dropped. They followed an alleged attack in October on a woman on the campus of the University of Zululand, where Zuma is a student.

In late October the Deputy President's office issued a statement saying the two parties had discussed the matter and had resolved it amicably.

The complainant then willingly withdrew the charges, saying that she acted emotionally rather than rationally in "a lovers' tiff," Zuma's spokesperson Mathula Magubane told Sapa.

A close friend of Mziwoxolo Zuma said the two had been lovers for the past two years and had made up since the incident. - Sapa

- SAPA