PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, JACOB ZUMA
Afrobarometer Bulletin [Briefing Paper No.104]
PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, JACOB ZUMA
by Paul Graham and Carmen Alpin
Introduction
In May 2012, a display of art entitled “Hail to the Thief II” caused a national controversy because of a single element hung on a separate wall. This was a pastiche of a well-known image of Lenin with the face of the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. The piece was entitled “Spear of the Nation”.
The controversy centred on issues of respect and dignity versus those of freedom of artistic expression. An unresolved court case was withdrawn after the image was serially defaced by two individuals, a public march on the gallery and a subsequent press conference between the African National Congress a...