JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 6 (UPI) -- Former South African President Jacob Zuma went on trial Monday on a charge of rape.
The atmosphere outside the court in Johannesburg was tense as hundreds of Zuma's supporters confronted anti-rape activists, the BBC reported. Zuma, a longtime leader with the African National Congress, remains popular with the party's left wing, and some of his backers say the charges were cooked up to keep him from becoming president.
A woman who has not been identified says that Zuma sexually assaulted her in his home in a suburb of Johannesburg last year. Zuma maintains that she agreed to sex, saying that his daughter was in the house and the woman could have left.
"The complainant visited my home on 2 November of her own volition," Zuma said in a statement read by his lawyer, Kemp J. Kemp. "We had sexual intercourse for some time -- it was consensual."
Three judges have withdrawn from the case, including one whose sister had a child by Zuma.
