For the past two weeks South Africa has been engaging in discussions and debates about the Spear. This portrait which depicts the genitals of President Jacob Zuma has created a lot of racial controversy, with some people saying this portrait was aimed to defame black people. As journalists and artists with our democratic right to express ourselves where do we draw the line? Where do we say this is where I end, I cannot go overboard, I need to pay respect to this situation?
When we look into South African Constitution, we are
given the freedom of expression. This
right simply allows people to express themselves either verbally or
non-verbally. On the other hand we have
the right of human dignity, which says everybody has to be respected. Now with the Spear we have two rights which
are in conflict. Who has to compromise
his right? Murray has a right to express
himself and President Zuma has a right to human dignity.
For me all these rights are equal and important. Compromising one of them would bring us into
inequality and having one of the persons living in a tight space. As all rights come with exceptions and
responsibilities, I would say before we come to exercise our rights, we should
look into some aspects that might have a potential to contradict or bring
conflict amongst people
In South Africa, as a rainbow country, we have many
cultures. We ought to pay respect to
everyone’s even if we do not agree with them.
The artist, Brett Murray had a democratic right to express his
thought. For him, drawing a portrait
with the genitals, it might have meant that Zuma sleeps around with women like
nobody’s business. We cannot deny the
fact that Zulu people lawfully practice polygamy and is promoted over private
affairs. I am also not in favour of this
practice, but I cannot criticise it because people doing it feel that it is the
best. This is where one has to
compromise their right, so we can bring peace.
Who should have compromised his right?
For me, Brett could have because it would not harm him than what it has
done to Zuma and his family.
Above all things, not from any country I have heard that
a president has been mocked. Even if we
do not like the person elected to sit in the president chair, we still need to
respect his office. As the president
governing the country, he has to be respected and be recognised.
Having a right to voice out what we feel might not be
important as paying respect to the people in authority.
When I spoke to the eThekwini Municipality official, Mr.
Loggie Naidoo about this portrait, he said Murray became an opportunist, he
realised that if he could make a painting which disgraces South Africa, surely
European countries would buy it. As it
happened, the portrait had been sold for R136 000. A question which may rise is that, “Where was
this buyer taking the portrait to? And why out of all portraits drawn everyday
did he decide to take the Spear? A value
of money might end up messing our relationship with people around us. We may not know his reasons of drawing this but
if it was money-driven I would say he got it wrong; you cannot have money in
expense of other person’s dignity.
On the other hand, I am not in favour of what people have
created out of this entire saga. We have
seen and heard a lot of people saying this portrait is about racism, I do not
believe so. Why every time in South
Africa when a white person does something wrong, it has to do with racism? It looks like as South Africans we are not
going anywhere because of this word ‘racism’.
There has been a lot being done to bring people together. We should get over the skin colour and
language but live in this democratic country with harmony.
It is time we as a journalists start looking into what we
are writing and ensuring that it does not affect other people. We have this democratic right but it is not
as important as giving a space for right to human dignity.
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