Jacob against the media

Jacob Zuma is at it again, attempting to suppress the freedom of expression. He has instituted a lawsuit against the cartoonist Zapiro for about R7-million in response to the cartoon depicting him as raping the figurative Lady Justice. It is not beyond comprehension that the uninformed may have misinterpreted such cartoon as having had a direct reference to the case of rape against Zuma, of which he was acquitted.

According to the letter by Zuma’s lawyers, “The publication of the aforesaid cartoon has injured our client in his dignity and reputation and as a result thereof he has suffered damages in the amount of R7-million.” It has been reported that the R7-million claim consists of R5-million for alleged damage to Zuma’s reputation and R2-million for alleged damage to his dignity.

According to Zapiro the cartoon, “… showed Jacob Zuma, with the help of his political allies, threatening and intimidating the judiciary to try and manipulate the courts for him to be exonerated and escape going on trial [for corruption], thus paving the way for Zuma to become president.”

The ANC has perfected the use of metaphors in recent times. Not very long ago, the infantile leader of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, promised to kill us if Zuma was prosecuted for corruption and did not become president of the country. We were all frightened of the prospect of our appointment with our Maker being rescheduled early in order that Zuma fulfill his lifelong ambition of president of the Republic of South Africa; but the ANC was quick to calm us all down, that Malema had merely summoned his poetic faculties and had no real intention of destroying humanity. It is rather astonishing that Jacob Zuma in this instance has failed to read and understand the metaphor of Lady Justice.

Jacob Zuma has become a serial abuser of our courts. In the past three years he has instituted lawsuits to the tally of at least R70-million. During the period he has spent a considerable amount of time in the courts appealing every attempt by the prosecuting authorities to bring him to justice. It is a bit of an oxymoron that the courts have been abused in order to subvert justice. This is a man who once demanded his day in court in order to clear his name. In 2005, when he was to appear in the Durban magistrate court on corruption charges, he said, “I welcome this decision as it affords me an opportunity to respond to and clarify the allegations that have been made against me over a period of time.” Perhaps this was before someone whispered something in his ear about a conspiracy. I wonder if he will sue the ANC if they lose the general elections of 2009.

Zuma claims that Zapiro has damaged his reputation and dignity. What reputation and dignity is this man referring to? He has only himself to blame for loss of dignity and damage to his reputation. He has consistently been the victim of his own misdemeanours and blunders. In 2006 during his rape trial, he introduced the infamous “Shower Theory” into the HIV prevention discourse after having savoured the pleasures of the flesh with an HIV positive young woman, without using any measure of protection. Like a true warrior he faced the monster head-on. According to this theory by the former head of the National Aids Council, the post-coital shower reduces the risk of HIV infection. This randy polygamist has still not made the results of his HIV test public in order to assess the veracity of his scientific experiment.

Zuma not only proved to be a polygamist with no sense of appreciation of the scourge of HIV/Aids, he has also proved himself to be a homophobe. When speaking at Heritage Day celebrations in KwaDukuza in 2006, Zuma said: “When I was growing up an ungqingili (a gay) would not have stood in front of me. I would knock him out.”

Chapter two of the Constitution, which outlines the Bill of Rights, states that everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected. In Zuma’s case, especially after a litany of his misdemeanours and blunders, it is plausible to conclude that his dignity had already been impaired prior to the publication of the Zapiro cartoon. There is nothing remaining that needs to be respected and protected. Perhaps the onus of proof should be on Zuma that there are some leftovers to be salvaged.

Zuma has said: “Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones in our democracy.” It is, however, not mind-boggling that he would say one thing and do another. He is master of acrobatics. He suffers from a chronic illusion that he is beyond satire and mockery, hence the determination to suppress press freedom by attempts to intimidate the media with these nonsensical lawsuits. The president of the Congress of the People (Cope), Mosiuoa Lekota, has consistently lambasted Zuma for having no respect for the Constitution, in this instance article 16 of chapter two of the Constitution (Bill of Rights), which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom of the press and other media.

Zuma ought to be reminded that South Africa ranks 36th out of 173 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF’s) latest index of press freedom — down from 31st position in the 2005 index. Countries like Namibia (23rd), Ghana (31st) and Mali (also 31st) are ranked ahead of Africa’s beacon of democracy. His absurd litigations do nothing to improve South Africa’s reputation on how it promotes the freedom journalists and news organisations enjoy.

Zuma’s behaviour raises questions about the real motive behind these nonsensical litigations. It is common knowledge that his financial affairs had been in disarray hence Shabir Shaik’s financial intervention; and it therefore raises suspicion that these legal escapades could be a form of income generation. We hope not as that would be gross abuse of the justice system. The behaviour of this man is indicative of his propensity to suppress individual freedoms as enshrined in the constitution and the prospect of the self-anointed one becoming president of the Republic of South Africa is deeply troubling. It would appear that there are those who pretended that theirs was a struggle for liberation of the masses from tyranny of apartheid when their real intentions were to continue to subject certain sections of society and its institutions to their own tyranny.

I have no doubt that the majority of South Africans who care deeply about their beloved country, would know the right thing to do. Let us together salvage what is left of our country and rebuild it to achieve our common pursuits of transition society to normality; society that is free of corruption, intimidation, lawlessness, violation of the constitution, poverty and unemployment.