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ANC says Zuma cartoon not funny

Werner Swart and Dominic Mahlangu

Zapiro and Sunday Times editor say criticism of cartoon misses the point
THE ANC and its alliance partners have launched a stinging verbal broadside on cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro and the Sunday Times over his latest work.
But Shapiro, who practises his craft under the nom de plume Zapiro, says he expected the outcry over his latest cartoon featuring ANC president Jacob Zuma — and he won’t apologise.
The cartoon appeared in the Sunday Times at the weekend and shows Zuma unzipping his pants while his alliance partners hold down the figurative Lady of Justice, suggesting that Zuma is about to “rape” justice as he is egged on by his allies.
The allies depicted in the cartoon are ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, the SACP’s Blade Nzimande, Cosatu’s Zweli- nzima Vavi and the ANC’s Gwede Mantashe — who is saying, “Go for it, boss!”
Malema described the cartoon as “racist” and said it exposed Zapiro’s “attitude not only about black leaders, but about black people in general”.
The ANC said the cartoon reflected Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya’s “dictatorial nature” and said he had “abused press freedom”.
The cartoon has drawn strong reaction from the ANC and its partners, who immediately linked the cartoon to the 2006 rape trial in which Zuma was accused of raping a young woman, but was later acquitted.
Malema said: “What Zapiro fails to understand is that Zuma was never found guilty of rape.”
Shapiro said linking the cartoon to the rape trial missed the point.
“It depicts that the justice system is being raped by Zuma and his alliance partners.
“The cartoon is about the justice system and the attacks that have been launched on it [by Zuma and the alliance partners]. What sparked it [the cartoon] had zip, nada, to do with the rape trial,” he said.
Shapiro is currently being sued by Zuma for cartoons that appeared during the rape trial. The initial claim against him was for R15-million, but this has been reduced to R2-million.
“If he thought that [the lawsuit] is going to intimidate me, then he must think again,” Shapiro said.
Vavi, who is known to be a fan of Zapiro’s work and has several of his cartoons displayed on the walls leading to his office in Cosatu House, said the cartoon had left him “shocked, devastated and lost for words”.
He said: “Zapiro has equated us to rapists. There is no basis for this cartoon. What is he saying to the world? Is he saying Zuma is a rapist? This cartoon goes way beyond acceptable levels of freedom of expression. While we battle rape in this country, he goes and does this!”
In a joint statement the ANC, its Youth League and the SA Communist Party accused Zapiro and Makhanya of abusing press freedom.
“We have never attacked the judiciary, but criticised unfair treatment of our president. This we did in a normal public discourse of a democratic society. There can, therefore, be no justification for such unwarranted insults on our leadership by the Sunday Times.”
The statement also called into question Makhanya’s credibility as an editor.
“We can only hope that the newspaper will find a suitable leadership other than the ranting dictator who finds joy in manipulating the truth. The ANC is keen that the public should get Makhanya to answer for abuse of press freedom by the Sunday Times.”
Makhanya said the cartoon portrayed the recent vicious attacks on the judiciary and legal system by Zuma and his allies.
“I wish there was a similar level of outrage about the labelling of the judiciary as counter-revolutionaries and the description of the highest court in the land as a shebeen,” he said.
Makhanya was referring to Congress of SA Students secretary Buda Tsotetsi’s recent comparison of the Constitutional Court with a shebeen, and Mantashe’s labelling of the court’s judges as counter- revolutionary.
Cosatu’s Patrick Craven said the cartoon was “in extremely bad taste” and questioned why a woman had been used to depict the justice system.
Shapiro said: “Lady [of] Justice is a universally recognised figure. Cosatu is simply pretending not to know that.”
Vavi and Malema said though they were not happy with Zapiro’s latest work, the alliance was not planning to take any action against him.
“We do need a Zapiro to express himself, but he must not agitate the masses,” Vavi said.
Freedom of Expression Institute executive director Jane Duncan said what made the cartoon contentious was that it “could evoke an association with the rape trial”.
“He [Zuma] has a right to move beyond that event and some may think this cartoon effectively accuses him of rape again.”
But Duncan said she did not think Zapiro had stepped over the line.
“Creative expression, such as cartoons, should be given greater latitude than news reports. It should be judged differently and it will always give rise to different interpretations.”

· View a larger version of the cartoon
· AUDIO: Listen to Zapiro’s defence
· EDITORIAL: Violation of SA’s Lady of Justice is indeed imminent
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