Why this Lindiwe Sisulu comment on believing Zuma rape accuser is so confusing

Faced with a question about Khwezi alleging President Jacob Zuma had raped her at his Forest Town home in 2005, Sisulu said: “I believe that she believed she was raped.”

Sisulu appeared to sidestep the question and not respond directly, which made her answer confusing. McKaiser was live tweeting throughout the radio interview, and when he tweeted that statement, it solicited various comments from people who couldn’t understand it.

One opined that Sisulu was trying to toe the party line by not saying anything that could jeopardise her position.

Sisulu’s hesitancy to outright comment on whether she believed Khwezi or not was seen a weak by several people on Twitter and unbecoming of a presidential hopeful who is expected to provide clear, coherent answers, especially on a crime as violent and widespread as rape.

While Zuma was acquitted of rape in 2005, Khwezi was forced to leave the country after her home in KwaMashu was burnt to the ground by Zuma supporters. She fled to Netherlands, Tanzania  and later returned to South Africa about two years ago.

She died last year, and was buried in Durban.

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