JOHANNESBURG, May 8 (Xinhua) -- While unanimously saying that they will accept the decision by judge, South African politicians, activists and the public reacted differently to Jacob Zuma's acquittal from a rape charge on Monday.

    Zuma, axed deputy president of South Africa but still a charismatic politician, was told in the Johannesburg High Court that he was "found not guilty" after months of grueling court trial.

    When presiding judge Willem van der Merwe ended a marathon summary with the words, "The accused is found not guilty," Zuma's supporters jumped up and started shrieking. They stood on the court benches, some sobbing.

    The man at the center of the trial saved the longest hug for his lawyer Kemp J. Kemp who produced an exhaustive defense during the trial, which has gripped the entire nation since it started on February 13.

    Thousand-strong pro-Zuma crowds shouted in excitement outside the court, where they have waited for hours for the outcome. Punching their fists into the air they shouted "Zuma, Zuma."

    To those who had demonstrated their support to "their man" in the past months, the verdict on Monday was "a music to their ears," commented an SABC news report.

    Zuma, 64, was accused of raping a 31-year-old HIV-positive woman in the guest bedroom of his Johannesburg home on November 2 last year.

    But Van der Merwe agreed with Zuma's version that the two had consensual sex in his bedroom.

    President Thabo Mbeki, who was far away in Cape Town for a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of post-apartheid Constitution, said he accepted the not guilty verdict in the trial of his former deputy.

    "The Presidency respects the independence of the judiciary and accepts the verdict," he said through his spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanda.

    Zuma was once the front runner to succeed Mbeki, who steps down after his final term ends in 2009. But Zuma was sacked by Mbeki as the country's deputy president in June, last year, after he was implicated into a corruption case.

    Dismissal of Zuma fanned widespread rumors about power struggles inside the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which will elect their president next year.

    Pro-Zuma sides have cried foul over the alleged conspiracy that aims to prevent Zuma from succeeding Mbeki as the ANC president and further the president of the nation on 2009.

    Zuma still retains the title as the ANC's deputy head, although he had not participated the party's executive activities for a period.

    The ANC and its political alliance South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomed and accepted the judgment, saying they had consistently indicated their support for the principled position that the law should be allowed to take its course.

    "The trial process confirms that our democratic institutions are on a firm footing. The verdict was reached after an exhaustive and transparent process," said a joint statement.

    The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) expressed disappointment at the acquittal, but respected and accepted it, the authority said in a media statement.

    The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's major opposition, said the law had taken its course.

    "However, as the judge himself has commented, this trial has been as much about sexual politics as about rape," spokeswoman Sheila Camerer said, adding that the political fallout of the verdict would be "significant though as yet undetermined."

    "Even though he has been found not guilty Zuma has emerged with his credibility as a leader severely damaged. He has demonstrated some of the worst aspects of patriarchy and sexism, in a most irresponsible manner.

    "As a previous head of South Africa's AIDS Council he has spread disinformation about combating HIV/AIDS," Camerer said, referring to the bombshell testimony by both Zuma and the complainant that a condom was not used during the sex.

    South Africa has the world's worst prevalence of HIV infections, and according to the non-governmental organization People Opposing Women Abuse, one woman is raped every 26 seconds in South Africa. While Zuma's supporters celebrated in Johannesburg streets, they jeered the small group of rape awareness campaigners, the SAPA newsagency reported.

    "We are really sad and disappointed and not particularly surprised," Dawn Cavanagh from the Gender Aids Forum was quoted as saying.

    "We have a conviction rate of probably under seven percent in this country," Cavanagh said.

    But Jacob Zuma castigated the media for having pre-judged him after he walked out of the court a free man.

    Speaking in his native Zulu language, he told supporters: "They insulted me and called me names," according to a SAPA report. Without identifying anyone, he added: "Others were not doing it on their own but were sent by some people somewhere."

    Zuma said that he had all along maintained his innocence, making it clear he would not discuss the matter in the media but in court. "But since 9 am this morning, the judge has been going into what was factual and what not -- and has finally concluded that I am innocent," he said. Enditem