[JURIST] A South African court on Monday acquitted former Deputy President Jacob Zuma [party profile] on rape charges, finding that testimony from Zuma's accuser was not credible and that her allegations were false. Zuma had denied the charges [JURIST report], as well as separate corruption charges [JURIST report], saying that they were part of a conspiracy to discredit him politically [JURIST report] in order to prevent him from challenging South African President Thabo Mbeki [BBC profile] in the 2009 presidential election.

Zuma still faces trial on the corruption charges. Zuma was fired [JURIST report] from his position in the government last year after one of his advisors, South African businessman Schabir Shaik [Wikipedia profile] was found guilty [JURIST report] on charges of corruption and fraud. AP has more. From South Africa, the Mail & Guardian has local coverage.