South African rape takes second place

The trial of former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma was never going to be straight forward see blog Power, Sex and South African. For one thing a female defendant taking on a powerful political force in that country is asking for trouble.
Trouble she has had in bucket loads: The politician's supporters have burned photographs of her outside the courtroom - even though her identity was meant to be a secret - and depicted her as a traitor and a tramp.
The other major aspect is the underlying political power struggle associated with the trial, a power struggle reaching into the secretive precincts of the National Intelligence Agency.
Director-general of National Intelligence Agency Billy Masetlha was fired by President Mbeki in October last year. This was after he was caught up in apparent hoax e-mails generated by the spy agency against Zuma.
At the time Mbeki is quoted as saying: "The president as head of state and head of government is the principal client of civilian intelligence … Now you can imagine what would happen if the president is fed false information.”Masetlha is blamed by intelligence inspector-general Zolile Ngcakani, and also by intelligence sources, for:

• Authorising the unlawful surveillance of ANC executive and businessman Saki Macozoma under the pretext that the he was involved with foreign intelligence.


• Being involved in the fabrication of the e-mails that purport to implicate senior government and ANC officials in a plot to sideline and incriminate embattled former deputy president Jacob Zuma.


• Being highly involved in party political squabbles by colluding with politicians in the divisive succession battle that has polarised the ruling party between Mbeki and Zuma camps.


• Abusing intelligence and state resources for personal or political gain.


• Acting ultra vires in bugging and intercepting individuals' communications for the same purpose, which could have contributed to the fabrication of the e-mails.

The list of accusation goes on, and becomes a little confusing to outsiders, but you get the idea. This case should be about a rape, which is a daunting enough challenge in South Africa. On that issue alone, one activist Johanna Kehler says:
“What happens in the Zuma case happens in many other cases all over the country on a daily basis.” Well, what happens on the rape aspect at least.
The violence South African women face remains a secondary issue in a trial Zuma's supporters claim is part of a campaign to ruin his political future. The 63-year-old former freedom fighter had once been widely seen as President Thabo Mbeki's successor.