By Terry Bell
Pretoria – The rape trial of President Jacob Zuma will be brought up again on Monday when deputy defence minister Kebby Maphatsoe defends a R1 million defamation case brought against him by former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils.
The hearing is scheduled to start at 09:00 in the High Court in Pretoria.
At the time of the rape charge laid against Zuma by a 31-year-old HIV-positive daughter of a family friend, Maphatsoe and members of the ANC Women’s League maintained that Zuma had been the victim of a “honey trap” and the woman, known as “Khwezi”, had been sent to seduce Zuma.
After his acquittal in 2006 on the grounds that the sex was consensual, Zuma also maintained that he had been the victim of a plot.
“She [Khwezi] was clearly sent to me for that purpose. As soon as I heard she was laying charges, I knew there had to be a plot,” he said.
However, Maphatsoe went further, maintaining that the plot had been hatched within the intelligence ministry. The then minister Kasrils had “”handpicked the woman who alleged Jacob Zuma had raped her”.
He also claimed that Kasrils had sold out to foreign agencies and was hostile to MK operatives who had been dismissed from the services.
Kasrils was furious, demanded a retraction and apology, and started defamation proceedings. These are now coming to court.
Maphatsoe is also the controversial head of the MK Veterans’ Association (MKVA) and faces another civil action brought by several veterans who allege the large-scale looting of MKVA funds. According to lawyers acting for the veterans, this case is likely to be heard before the end of the year. – News24
Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/kasrils-defamation-trial-kicks-off-in-pretoria-20160822
