A South African judge on Monday acquitted former Deputy President Jacob Zuma of raping an HIV-positive family friend, ending a case that opened deep rifts in the ruling African National Congress.
The verdict saved the man once seen as the country's next president from political oblivion, but analysts said he has been badly wounded by the sensational court case. "I find that consensual sex took place between the complainant and the accused," Judge Willem van der Merwe told a packed courtroom as more than 2,000 Zuma supporters massed outside the Johannesburg courthouse exploded in wild cheers.
Zuma, in brief remarks to the crowd after the verdict, thanked them for their continued support.
"I thank you for not being frightened because you stood for the truth. No one should be intimidated because he's hated," Zuma said to cheers and ululation from the crowd.
Zuma's rape trial has fanned tensions in the ANC, where he remains a widely popular figure and was until recently seen as the frontrunner to succeed President Thabo Mbeki in 2009.
Despite his broad appeal, political analysts say this case and a coming prosecution on graft charges will make it hard for Zuma to recover his former prominence.
The ANC, in a joint statement with its alliance partners the COSATU union group and the South African Communist Party, said it welcomed and accepted the Zuma verdict after what it described as a "distressing" trial. "The trial process confirms that our democratic institutions, which we fought for over many years, are on a firm footing." Women's rights groups, who held their own small protest outside the Johannesburg court, expressed dismay at the ruling.
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