Rape of Lady Justice cartoon controversy

[1] The four men were key Zuma supporters in the ANC-led Tripartite Alliance: from left to right, Julius Malema (then leader of the ANC Youth League), Gwede Mantashe (then ANC Secretary General), Blade Nzimande (General Secretary of the South African Communist Party), and Zwelinzima Vavi (General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions).

In September, Judge Chris Nicholson of the Pietermaritzburg High Court was presiding over a legal challenge lodged by Zuma, which sought to declare the charges against him invalid and unconstitutional, and which had delayed his trial, initially scheduled to begin in August.

[4] In the months leading up to the verdict, Zuma's political allies made numerous public threats and ad hominem attacks against the judiciary.

[1] On 12 September, the week after the cartoon was published, Judge Nicholson set aside the charges on procedural grounds.

Others criticised the cartoon as promoting a South African stereotype that depicts black males as sexual predators.

The cartoon that started the controversy. Entitled the Rape of Lady Justice, the cartoon shows Jacob Zuma (far left) opening his pants whilst his political allies hold down a woman representing Lady Justice . It strongly implies that Zuma is about to rape Lady Justice with the assistance of his political allies.