SA ruling party condemns grotesque painting insulting Zuma

The African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday condemned a grotesque painting in which President of the ANC and the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma is illustrated in a demeaning and hyper-sexualized manner.

"The ANC condemns this form of commentary and views it as an abuse of the right to freedom of speech and media. Mabulu's exhibition is a grotesque act of vulgarity and disrespect; and a blatant violation of the right to dignity of those portrayed," the party's national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said in a statement.

The painting, by artist Ayanda Mabulu, depicts Zuma performing analingus on Atul Gupta, a leading member of the Indian Gupta family which allegedly keeps close ties with Zuma. An ANC flag hangs in the scene, a plane's cockpit, a not-so-subtle metaphor for capital flight.

"While the Bill of Rights promotes the right to freedom of expression, the right to human dignity of all individuals, regardless of their standing in society, is inherently of equal value. In our hard-won democracy, it should not be that artistic license should trump or be used as an excuse to trample on the human rights of others," Kodwa said.

Mabulu has consistently, over a long time, relied on a particular symbolism to advance his commentary. Common amongst these include the portrayal of black leaders in the form of baboons, according to Kodwa.

"These are all symbols of colonial anthropology that views black people as hyper-sexual beasts who think through their genitalia and are only intellectually competent on a scale similar to baboons," said Kodwa.

Mabulu defends his painting, saying the art work is a response to allegations of state capture by the Gupta family which allegedly exerts undue influence on Zuma in the appointment of cabinet ministers and to the constitutional court ruling in March which found Zuma having failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution in regards to the Nkandla scandal in which Zuma is accused of abusing public funds to pay security upgrades at his private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province.

"Why must I hide the truth when it is as blatant as the sun," Mabulu said in response to a question about his use of sexual scenarios in depicting the political leadership of the country.

Members of the public have expressed justifiable anger at these works, Kodwa said.

The ANC calls on all defenders of media freedom, freedom of expression and the arts to also condemn this excessive conduct, he said.

This call extends to institutions such as the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) who must not turn a blind eye on media practices that offend the very principles that they seek to defend, he said. Endit