Show of support for ex-deputy president Zuma

Thousands of people turned up outside the Johannesburg High Court on Monday to show their support for Jacob Zuma at the former South African deputy president's rape trial, while the presiding judge stepped down amid claims that he might be biased. A 31-year-old HIV/AIDS activist has alleged that Zuma had raped her at his home in Johannesburg in November 2005. Zuma has denied the allegations. Some of Zuma's 2,000-odd supporters, singing old liberation songs, including his favourite, "Lethu Mshini Wali (Give me my gun)", gathered outside the courthouse, where they clashed with scores of policemen in riot gear while the defence lawyers argued inside that Judge Bernard Ngoepe might be biased, as he had issued warrants for Zuma's house to be searched in a corruption case last year. Later in the afternoon Ngoepe said he had decided to step down to protect the judiciary's credibility. After the judge's decision, Zuma came out to thank his supporters and said he was unable to comment on the charges, but added that the truth would emerge soon. Zuma was fired as the country's deputy president in June 2005 after being implicated in a high-profile fraud trial related to South Africa's arms procurement programme. His dismissal as deputy president of the country created a rift between him and South African President Thabo Mbeki, which degenerated into the worst crisis the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has faced since being elected to power in 1994. Zuma had been regarded as a possible candidate to succeed Mbeki, who completes his second term of office in 2009. Zuma's supporters claim he has been a victim of a conspiracy and wore T-shirts on Monday in support of their theory. "Some people within my movement [the ANC] do not want him to become president," said Kaiser Mohau, a spokesman for the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust. "The woman [the complainant] probably wants money," alleged a supporter. A female passer-by claimed that the complainant was to blame, because she, "a young woman", had gone to Zuma's house "when he was alone". The pro-Zuma supporters also targeted a handful of women's rights activists, including People Opposed to Woman Abuse (POWA), the Gender Aids Forum, the Forum for the Empowerment of Women, a black lesbian group, and the Positive Women's Network, who sang songs urging Zuma to abide by the law and carried placards proclaiming: 'Silence does not equal consent' and 'Rape is always a crime'. "Look at those women - what are they doing here? Throw them out!" yelled a man from the pro-Zuma group. "Our president cannot do such a thing [as rape]. He is a gentleman," said Pretty Ntuli, a Zuma supporter. Carrie Shelver, the coordinator of POWA, commented, "It is unfortunate. South Africa is very much a patriarchal society, and women often help to reinforce that." The trial is to continue on Tuesday under a new judge.