Ex-S. African official denies rape charges

JOHANNESBURG -- The man once groomed to be South Africa's next president defended himself yesterday against charges that he raped an HIV-positive family friend, arguing that they had consensual sex.

Jacob Zuma, who was fired as deputy president under a cloud of corruption in June, told a packed courtroom that his accuser did not try to resist him at any point during their encounter.

''If she had said no, I would have stopped there and gotten up and left," Zuma, 63, said in his native Zulu language, recalling the evening in quiet, measured tones.

Zuma, who once headed South Africa's National AIDS Council, said he did not use a condom. He said he believed the risk from unprotected sex with someone with the virus that causes AIDS was relatively small.

His 31-year-old accuser, who has known Zuma since she was a small child and refers to him as ''uncle," said the former freedom fighter abused her trust and raped her at his home in Johannesburg on Nov. 2.

The case is the most politically explosive here since the end of apartheid and has gripped South Africa, with large crowds of Zuma supporters gathering daily in front of the Johannesburg High Court. It has also cast a spotlight on the high incidence of rape and the treatment of victims.

Yesterday's session was the first time Zuma took the stand. His lawyers tried unsuccessfully last week to have the case dismissed.

Zuma tried to demolish his accuser's claims that they enjoyed a father-daughter-like relationship.

He said he never referred to her as his daughter and in the two months leading up to the incident, she frequently sent him mobile phone text messages and she started sending him ''lots of love," ''hugs" and ''kisses" in the messages.

The woman said she was so shocked by Zuma's advances that she froze and did not try to resist -- behavior one psychologist said was consistent with rape victims in shock.

Women's groups fear that the trial will deter rape victims from reporting future crimes. South Africa has the highest rape rate in the world -- four times higher than in the United States -- with more than 55,000 cases reported to police in 2003-04. Only an estimated one in nine cases is reported.