Commissions+to+interfere+with+Zuma+trial,+da+Costa,+Sindy



=Commissions to meet over concerns raised by Zuma trial=

Sunday Independent, Johannesburg, March 19, 2006

 * By Wendy Jasson da Costa**

The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the public protector have agreed to meet this week to discuss concerns relating to Jacob Zuma's rape trial.

The CGE and HRC in particular have voiced concern about the way the complainant was treated by supporters of the former deputy president and the "sensationalist" reporting by the media.

Shireen Said, the head of the CGE's legal services, said: "We fought really hard for the issue of gender violence to be placed within the courts structure and not allow victims to go underground and to keep quiet, [and] when they are violated, to come forward.

"This raises the question: does it push people back and say it's safer for me not to respond?" she asked.

She said the commissions were particularly worried about newspaper headlines, such as "She was delicious" and "He pushed harder".

"Are we also helping to perpetuate that it's okay to rape?" asked Said.

There were several legal points they were concerned about, such as cautionary rule on single witness testimony and the evidence that was led on a person's past sexual behaviour. "The way that was played out in the trial and the way it was reported, what does it say about our understanding of the legal processes?" she asked.

It would also be important for the three organisations to look at the country's adversarial system and the socio-economic rights of victims.

"If you can't afford the best defence you're likely not to get the best defence in court. If you get a better defence, the poor victim is somebody who doesn't get the best justice because the prosecution services are also overstretched," Said said.

"So while defence counsel is dealing with only one matter, the prosecution is dealing with a whole lot of matters."

She said the three bodies were watching events at the court closely and would respond only after the case. "We need to be very cautious and this is where we need to look at our strategy on the kind of intervention, because the due process of law and the rule of law must always be upheld."

Depending on the type of case and court, she said they could also intervene as a friend of the court.

The three commissions appeared before the national assembly's justice committee on Friday. Jody Kollapen, the HRC chairperson, told MPs it was important to look at how the legal system was dealing with the Zuma case.

"I think it raises some fundamental questions of how we simply take for granted what a fair trial means and I think there is a need to examine that and begin to look at the kind of common assumption of the legal and due process issues that we simply say are givens," he said.

The HRC was the first body to speak out about the intimidating behaviour of Zuma's supporters outside the court at the start of the trial.

Commissioner Kathy Govender said it was of concern that while the witness was testifying, people had burnt pictures of her outside the court.

"There are very serious questions about whether or not the administration of justice was not adversely affected by such activities and it may well be that the intent was to impact on the witness," Govender said.

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 * From: http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1042&fArticleId=3165621