Zuma's accuser flees the country
May 11, 2006 Edition 1
Daily News Correspondents
The woman who accused Jacob Zuma of rape, and whose identity Judge Willem van der Merwe has ordered may not be divulged, last night fled the country.
She is understood to have boarded a midnight flight to a location that is known to Independent Newspapers.
Khwezi, as the 31-year-old complainant has become known, arrived at Johannesburg International Airport in a white Chrysler Voyager with tinted windows shortly after 10pm.
Her face covered in a long white scarf, she remained in the car as seven bodyguards unloaded her nine pieces of luggage on to two trolleys. One of the backpacks unloaded was the same one she carried into court when she testified.
She waved goodbye to family and friends inside the airport and, with her bodyguards keeping a close eye on proceedings, was whisked through check-in shortly before 11pm.
Three days ago, in a trial that transfixed the nation, Zuma was found not guilty of raping her. Judge Van der Merwe found that her allegation against Zuma was one of many false rape allegations she had made against men from the age of 13.
The judge found that Zuma and Khwezi had had consensual sex. Although he castigated Zuma for having sex with a comrade's daughter and for not using a condom, the judge accepted Zuma's version. - Daily News Correspondents
