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Rape cartoon featuring African leader causes outrage

 South African officials are not too happy about a cartoon depicting African leader Jacob Zuma unzipping his pants to rape “justice.” Both the cartoonist and the paper where it ran are refusing to apologize, reports Agence France-Presse. The cartoon, which appeared in The Sunday Times, features Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress who is currently facing a corruption case. It shows him opening his pants while men representing the ANC, the South African Communist Party, the ANC Youth League and COSATU hold down a blindfolded woman labeled “justice.” One of them tells Zuma, “Go for it, boss.” The groups immediately slammed the paper. “The cartoon rubbishes the collective integrity of the alliance and constitutes yet another continued violation of the rights and dignity of the ANC president,” they said in a joint statement. In 2006, Zuma was found not guilty of rape and some thought the cartoon was trying to insinuate he was a rapist. The paper denies the claim, though, saying the cartoon was only referring to his corruption case. And the cartoonist, Zapiro, stands strongly behind his work. “I am angry at them, I am outraged … at what Jacob Zuma is trying to do to the justice system and constitutional principles along with his team of lawyers and his political allies,” he said in an interview with a South African radio station. “The central message is that Zuma is about to, poised to, trying to rape [the] justice system. …”

Nine die in Somalia fighting. At least nine people died Wednesday when Ethiopia-backed government troops clashed with rebel forces in the Somali capital of Mogadishu The Associated Press reports. The two sides have fought fiercely throughout the year, but the insurgents, who are Muslim, promised to increase attacks during the holy month of Ramadan. About 100 of them shouted “God is great” as they fired at a military base for both Ethiopian and Somali-government troops. They exchanged fire in a heated battle, leaving at least four civilians killed, the news service reports. Ethiopian troops are in the country to help stabilize the nation’s government; political violence has existed there for more than 15 years. The government succeeded in driving rebels out of the capital in 2006, but attacks in the area have spiked this year.

TAGS: Africa, ANC, cartoon, die, fighting, leader, Nine, rape, Somalia, South

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