South African President Jacob Zuma, under fire over renovations worth US $23 million at his rural farmhouse, on Monday defended the taxpayer-funded upgrade ahead of elections, saying his wife was raped there in 1998.
“Those who say I don’t need security – it’s not like we were dealing with a normal situation. People broke in and raped my wife,” Zuma told a media briefing. The incident occurred before he took over as president in 2009, he said, adding the culprits were “arrested, charged, convicted”.
Zuma did not specify which of his four wives were raped at the time, but analysts reminded detractors that it was illegal for rape victims to be identified in South African law. “I don’t think there is anything abnormal,” he said after huge outcries earlier about the upgrades, which include a swimming pool, a helipad, private clinic and an amphitheatre.