S Africa's Zuma acquitted of rape

JOHANNESBURG, May 8 (Reuters) A South African judge today acquitted former Deputy President Jacob Zuma of raping an HIV-positive family friend, keeping alive the political hopes of a man once seen as the country's next president.

''I find that consensual sex took place between the complainant and the accused,'' Judge Willem van der Merwe told a packed Johannesburg High Court in a verdict that was broadcast live on national television.

Zuma's rape trial has fanned tensions in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), where he remains a widely popular figure and was until recently seen as the frontrunner to succeed President Thabo Mbeki in 2009.

More than 2,000 pro-Zuma supporters staged a noisy demonstration outside the Johannesburg courthouse, the latest in a series of protests attesting to the grassroots popularity of a man many affectionately dub ''JZ''.

The 64-year-old anti-apartheid veteran had pleaded not guilty to raping his accuser at his Johannesburg home last November. But his lawyers said he did have consensual sex with the woman, a 31-year-old AIDS activist.

Conviction for rape could have brought a jail term of up to 15 years.

Zuma was hit with the rape case following a separate graft scandal last year which prompted Mbeki to sack him as the country's second-highest official.

He is due to go on trial in July on the corruption charges, which he has denied and described as part of a shadowy political plot by his enemies in the ANC to end his presidential hopes.

REUTERS DKS PM1856