It appears as an homage to his "Rape of Lady Justice" cartoon that appeared in the Sunday Times on 2008, which depicts President Jacob Zuma unbuckling his pants, while then-ANCYL leader Julius Malema, and then-tripartite alliance leaders Gwede Mantashe of the ANC, Zwelinzima Vavi of Cosatu and the SACP's Blade Nzimande pin Lady Justice to the ground.
@thadishe @shoki61 @RSApolitics And this 👇 pic.twitter.com/HxJ8IF2qw8— apartheid is looming (@Kwela12) April 11, 2017
The 2008 cartoon drew a strong reaction, with many at the time calling into question the apparent trivialisation of rape and rape culture, as well as the "disrespectful" nature of the depiction of the president.
The cartoon was in response to the alliance's defense of Zuma's raft of corruption charges he faced.
The April 11 cartoon was drawn in a similar vein, but instead of Lady Justice, the woman was depicted wearing a South African flag, and was being pinned down by editor Moegsien Williams representing ANN7 and the New Age, State Security Minister David Mahlobo representing "State Organs", and Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini representing "Cronies Inc."
This time, Zuma is buckling up his pants, apparently having finished with SA, handing over to Atul Gupta who is undoing his pants, saying "she's all yours, boss," in reference to state capture.
As with Zapiro's 2008 cartoon, the "Rape of South Africa" published by the Daily Maverick drew both praise and criticism.
