The ANC has not pronounced on the merits of the charges against its President Jacob Zuma, says Zuma's deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, the leader of government business in Parliament.

Writing in the online party newsletter, ANC Today, Motlanthe said on Friday that the ANC did not have the capacity nor the mandate to investigate, consider and pronounce on such matters, "But the ANC does reserve its right to comment on matters that violate the rights of the individual, and which undermine the proper application of justice," he said.

Motlanthe said that when Zuma appears in the Pietermaritzburg High Court next week, not only will he be accompanied by a contingent of ANC leaders, but he will have the support of hundreds of thousands of ANC members.

Those who criticised the ANC for its stance, and those who had waged a bitter campaign of attrition against Zuma, took the general approach that Jacob Zuma was guilty, and it was up to him to prove his innocence, he said.

Some took the view that though he might not have been found guilty, he was at least tainted by the charges that had been levelled against. After all, where there is smoke there is usually fire.

"But if, as a society, we are serious about what we have enshrined in our Bill of Rights, we are bound to accept that the presumption of innocence is not partial or discretionary," Motlanthe said.

"Until such time as a court tells us otherwise, Jacob Zuma is an innocent person. That is why the ANC has supported him until now, and will continue to support him." This matter was not simply about Jacob Zuma, Motlanthe continued. "It is about the principles and practices upon which we intend to build a new society, one that is democratic, just and equitable," he said: "It is also about the assertion of the right of any group of people to freely choose whom they wish to lead them.

The members of the ANC have unequivocally said that they want Jacob Zuma to be their president.

They have further said that they will be putting him forward as the ANC's candidate for President of South Africa in the 2009 elections.

"The ANC will therefore vigorously resist any attempts to undermine the collective will of its membership or the freely expressed will of the South African people.

"As the ANC has repeatedly said, we seek no special treatment for our President. We simply ask that he be treated fairly and justly."

Sapa