The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) on Wednesday joined a plethora of condemnation against a new painting that they argue defames President Jacob Zuma. The painting is currently on display in a Cape Town gallery has been called “deeply offensive” to Zuma, local news reports said, citing a statement from COSATU. “The painting, which depicts Comrade Zuma with exposed genitals, is not only deeply offensive to the president personally, but to his family and all South Africans regardless of their position. We are all entitled under our constitution to be treated with respect,” the statement said. “As a person, as a father, as a husband, he (Zuma) deserves to be respected and is entitled to his privacy,” said the statement. The trade federation has called for the immediate removal of the painting. The painting titled “Umshini Wam (Weapon of Mass Destruction)” is part of the “Our Fathers” exhibition being held at the Cape Town AVA Gallery. Artist Ayanda Mabulu defended the painting, saying: “(Zuma) is a representative of the ANC (African National Congress), which as a political party from my perspective now represents its own interests and less so the interests of the people.” The ANC reacted indignantly to the painting, calling it “disrespectful.” “We condemn this painting in the strongest terms. Any portrayal of President Zuma in this way is disrespectful,” ANC spokesperson Keith Khoza said. “It makes a mockery of the president's office, his status as a father and a husband, and is an absolute abuse of the arts.” It is not the first time that Zuma was defamed in the artist form. In May, the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg displayed a painting depicting Zuma in what supporters of the president called “a vulgar manner” that caused the painting to be withdrawn.
