Spitting on the faces of the corrupt

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Zapiro may be facing yet another lawsuit from Zuma, but if his latest cartoon is anything to go by, the famed cartoonist is not going to be silenced any time soon.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjez31GwWgKrA_5aZ4NWYtka0gYgaCl2YF123rX3lBzy76FEWp9-dHg57xn7sFjdC9Hxkp9m_KsvWsKfDeXkPEYQgFw1mFU1dwnJPl08OM-jal1b1Ll2Paco5dak9SsDabRxtXLt5HSH5Eb/s1600/lastsupperweb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><img border="0" height="418" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjez31GwWgKrA_5aZ4NWYtka0gYgaCl2YF123rX3lBzy76FEWp9-dHg57xn7sFjdC9Hxkp9m_KsvWsKfDeXkPEYQgFw1mFU1dwnJPl08OM-jal1b1Ll2Paco5dak9SsDabRxtXLt5HSH5Eb/s640/lastsupperweb.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Zapiro takes aim at corrupt politicians and businessmen in particular ex-convict turned businessman Kenny Kunene, whose R700 000 birthday bash in October saw sushi being served on half-naked models.<br /><br />It speaks about excess and decadence and public figures who have been reaching unashamedly for that -- even when confronted they're not embarrassed.<br /><br />Cosatu General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, lambasted Kunene for "spitting in the face of the poor" -- a challenge Kunene brushed aside in a public statement.<br /><br />The cartoon shows leaders of the left, Gwede Mantashe and Vavi shunning the proceedings.<br /><br />The rest of the cast of 13 are made up of various politicians and businessman -- from Zuma to his nephew turned tenderpreneur, Khulubuse Zuma.<br /><br />Former top cop Jackie Selebi, who was jailed for corruption in August, is also included. The prisoner's window to the right of the table shows Selebi looking out licking his lips. "He'd like to be at the table," said Shapiro.<br /><br />And if you think the sushi platter looks familiar you'd be right -- it's South Africa's self-styled "Paris Hilton" Khanyi Mbau, who pulled her own sushi stunt shortly after Kunene's. "In a way she's only there for excess but she's not a big player like any of the others are -- corruption. She's just a lightweight," said Shapiro.</span></p></span><p></p>

Spitting on the faces of the corrupt

Zapiro may be facing yet another lawsuit from Zuma, but if his latest cartoon is anything to go by, the famed cartoonist is not going to be ...

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Zapiro brings back the shower head

<p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEM3aKspXjHyGQ7us4qToym-eC4pBQqpnuivTTyTfyiJnywxQIF0Z0WwomGuyWJunTgjsMPIaX4BOF3juGi4Umva7KcsHUsVHT0cAcuxX3qUZaUds6x4Vz4csuqveJ9vdqKk9R61sfqZIk/s1600-h/zuma-baby-shower-zapiro-49.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435984165981566082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEM3aKspXjHyGQ7us4qToym-eC4pBQqpnuivTTyTfyiJnywxQIF0Z0WwomGuyWJunTgjsMPIaX4BOF3juGi4Umva7KcsHUsVHT0cAcuxX3qUZaUds6x4Vz4csuqveJ9vdqKk9R61sfqZIk/s400/zuma-baby-shower-zapiro-49.gif" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><em>The latest Zapiro "Zuma baby shower" cartoon in this week's Mail & Guardian has been making waves on Twitter and elsewhere.</em></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">With criticism intensifying around President Jacob Zuma's sexual behaviour, political cartoonist Zapiro has brought back the Zuma showerhead.<br /><br />He said it was difficult to give Zuma a break.<br /><br />The cartoonist's latest drawing depicts a larger-than-ever shower firmly affixed to the president's head while delivering the State of the Nation address.<br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436282369194607426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyyldNeQT4SsmynnY1B_dsYs_UoUxZNB_JMWVhJiy97-AjlCJzsszFLhsWL9zQqJ3BSrRF1Rsrx1zkFs5SXTt4eVqvPlXEuzAW_hKv5XEgZ-Ue7qiME64LkrYcWCKBWUn9ZSB4C8YPg0f/s400/zapiro-new_459658d.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Zapiro first used the shower image in 2006 after Zuma said he took a shower to protect himself from contracting HIV after having unprotected sex.<br /><br />The cartoonist temporarily detached the shower from Zuma last year, as a sign of giving the president a chance.<br /><br />Zapiro said Zuma's latest antics proved what most South Africans though about their president.<br /><br />"All sorts of people tried to give him a break. I lifted the shower off his head according to how well or badly I thought he was doing. More people are criticising, even from within his own ranks. It is obviously an opportunity for me to play around with the shower," said Zapiro.<br /><br />Zapiro said Zuma should be embarrassed to address the nation on Thursday.<br /><br />"He has so many children and so many scandals that follow him. It was bound to co-incide with something and as it happens it co-incides with the speech and if I were him I would be so embarrassed getting up in front of the nation," said Zapiro. </span><p>

Zapiro brings back the shower head

The latest Zapiro "Zuma baby shower" cartoon in this week's Mail & Guardian has been making waves on Twitter and elsewhere...

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The Zapiro show the SABC wouldn't let you see

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLJlZfrk9maK-M63Ht1kkFVSuFQgbEeSs5b5BKD88MfPpLkS_sPpAhGssI0chmkjddXYT-FsixOcFnKSvVNVCo2Dk9IIdy7yMfT0aAirJUmfvpd2Vx7ZCYMzYpusTU91QYGt4tEiabYpi/s1600-h/zumazapiro.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340556078425771714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLJlZfrk9maK-M63Ht1kkFVSuFQgbEeSs5b5BKD88MfPpLkS_sPpAhGssI0chmkjddXYT-FsixOcFnKSvVNVCo2Dk9IIdy7yMfT0aAirJUmfvpd2Vx7ZCYMzYpusTU91QYGt4tEiabYpi/s400/zumazapiro.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 365px" /></a><a class="title_lk_cs" href="http://iafrica.com/news/sa/1478742.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">M&G plays Zapiro's satire</span></a></p><p><a class="title_lk_cs" href="http://iafrica.com/news/sa/1480907.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">SABC: M&G stole our video</span></a> </p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a href="http://iafrica.com/news/sa/1705021.htm">SABC to probe satire leak</a> </span></p><p><a href="http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-05-28-sabc-lays-charges-of-theft-over-zapiro-doccie"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">SABC lays charges of 'theft' over Zapiro doccie</span></a> </p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">The Special Assignment episode that was yanked from the SABC broadcasting schedule has been made available by the Mail and Guardian.<br /><br />A frame grab from the Special Assignment documentary on political satire shows President Jacob Zuma singing Umshini Wam. The M&G Online can now bring you the documentary that the SABC has been sitting on since before the elections in April.</span></strong></span></span></p><p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em></em></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">An SABC programme on political satire has been downloaded 3500 times since it was posted on the Mail & Guardian's website at 2.30pm on Wednesday.</span> <p></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">"It's almost brought the site down due to the number of hits we're getting. It's still loading, just very slowly," said M&G Online technical manager Jason Norwood-Young.<br /><br />On Tuesday night the SABC backed off airing the Special Assignment episode, the second time it had done so.<br /><br />"We were expecting a fair amount of interest, but probably spread out more. I thought it would be big tomorrow [Thursday] but it's obviously picked up quickly."<br /><br />The documentary appears on the website without narration or voiceover, suggesting that what had been posted may not be the final version of the show.<br /><br />It has interviews with Zapiro, the pen-name of cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, and ANC spokesperson Jesse Duarte.<br /><br />Perhaps most significantly, it shows a Zapiro cartoon of then-ANC president Jacob Zuma about to rape a depiction of 'Lady Justice' while she is held down by his political allies. That cartoon unleashed a storm of controversy at the time of its publication, as Zuma was involved in a court bid to have his corruption charges dropped.<br /><br />In defence of the cartoon, Zapiro says: "Many of the things I had said in that cartoon had been said in print for months... but when that image appeared all hell broke loose."<br /><br />Zapiro is currently being sued by Zuma for libel. Zuma contends the cartoons are an attack on his dignity.<br /><br />Duarte appears to defend the Zuma's legal action and his large damages claim.<br /><br />"There's no value one can put to human rights and human dignity. So executing the highest possible punitive measure is important.<br /><br />"It is not okay to draw Jacob Zuma with a shower on his head."<br /><br />Zapiro began depicting Zuma with a shower on his head following his acquittal on a rape charge in 2006. Zuma testified that he had had unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman and took a shower afterwards to minimise the risk of HIV infection.<br /><br />"Jonathan Shapiro took a comment in a court case out of context, and began to put a derogatory image of the president of the ANC with a shower coming out of his head and thought it would be funny," Duarte said.<br /><br />The programme was suspended for a second time on Tuesday evening. In a short statement released an hour before the show was scheduled to be broadcast, SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said: "Tonight's episode of Special Assignment will not be aired owing to the fact that due process with regards to consultation has not been concluded.<br /><br />"Because of the problems encountered previously with this particular episode, the acting group CEO Mr Gab Mampone in his capacity as editor-in-chief will need to make the final sign-off."<br /><br />In a statement issued on Wednesday, Congress of the People KwaZulu-Natal weighed in on the controversy with a condemnation of the programme's suspension.<br /><br />"Why has it become a political blasphemy to criticise or cartoon (President) Jacob Zuma, (SA Communist Party general secretary) Blade Nzimande, the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the SACP?" asked spokesperson Siyanda Mhlongo.<br /><br /><span style="color:#990000;">"That is why we have many people switching to commercial [television] because the SABC is now an ideological instrument of the ruling party. It is controlled and manipulated by the ANC."</span></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Watch the uncut Special Assignment episode on the M&G website - see what all the fuss is about</span></strong> - <a href="http://www.mg.co.za/multimedia/2009-05-27-what-the-sabc-wouldnt-show-you">watch the video</a><br /></p></span><p><a href="http://iafrica.com/news/sa/1477018.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>SABC gags 'Z-News'... again</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br /></em></span><a href="http://iafrica.com/news/sa/1475678.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>SABC to air Zapiro show</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em> </em></span></p>

The Zapiro show the SABC wouldn't let you see

M&G plays Zapiro's satire SABC: M&G stole our video SABC to probe satire leak SABC lays charges of 'theft' over Zapir...

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Cartoonist 'removes' Zuma shower

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDR2CQqzoC0HHmEd8qoq1zr6yVKNaJJuR07NndcibruhHR_NJnhqdDywaQRAt8KsbGPWHb3zYEn7-kDwQmHRWHrEREZLWCU385-tb8k-J-IMUWuFuvry9z2iOkDOsXqxc-2znyS2sUCfvx/s1600-h/zapiro_afp_226.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335330186796336322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDR2CQqzoC0HHmEd8qoq1zr6yVKNaJJuR07NndcibruhHR_NJnhqdDywaQRAt8KsbGPWHb3zYEn7-kDwQmHRWHrEREZLWCU385-tb8k-J-IMUWuFuvry9z2iOkDOsXqxc-2znyS2sUCfvx/s400/zapiro_afp_226.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro has decided to detach the notorious shower he depicts in sketches on President Jacob Zuma's head.<br /><br />His latest cartoon shows Mr Zuma in his office with the shower hovering above - rather than attached to - his head.<br /><br />The cartoonist said he wanted to give "the presidency a chance" to get going.<br /><br />In a 2006 rape trial, Mr Zuma conceded having had unprotected sex with his HIV-positive accuser, but said he showered afterwards to stop infection.<br /><br />Mr Zuma, who was inaugurated as president on Saturday after general elections last month, was acquitted of the charges.<br /><br />But since the embarrassing evidence emerged at the trial Mr Shapiro, known by his pen name Zapiro, began including the shower in his drawings of the African National Congress (ANC) leader.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#999999;">'Temporary suspension'</span></strong><br /><br />"I thought, I will take stock of where we are and give the presidency a chance to get going," Zapiro told the South African Press Association after his cartoon was published in Tuesday's edition of The Times newspaper.<br /><br />It showed Mr Zuma sitting at his presidential desk with a dripping shower hanging above his head, dangling a label saying "temporary suspension".<br /><br />"Despite my misgivings about Zuma, and despite my belief that it was wrong for the ANC to have him as its presidential candidate, we all have to take stock of the reality that he is president of the country.<br /><br />"So I said let's see if I can do gradual change - a little transition."<br /><br />The cartoonist promised the shower would return if the president "doesn't perform or things go wrong".<br /><br />Mr Zuma has been an unrelenting target of caustic mockery from Zapiro's pen.<br /><br />The ANC leader launched legal action last year after a Zapiro piece depicted him about to rape the female figure of Justice, while his political allies looked on. </span><br /></p>

Cartoonist 'removes' Zuma shower

South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro has decided to detach the notorious shower he depicts in sketches on President Jacob Zuma's he...

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