Pretoria - Nelson Mandela’s family is “unhappy” with an artwork depicting him and President Cyril Ramaphosa seemingly celebrating the death of Chris Hani.
The image was drawn by controversial sketch artist Ayanda Mabulu, who once drew naked images of then president Jacob Zuma. The controversial new art work shows Ramaphosa holding a firearm after shooting Hani, while Mandela laughs and a naked man urinates on his body.
Mayibuye Mandela, the great-grandson of the former president, said the image was “unrevolutionary, distasteful and pornographic”.
The image was completed in December with a caption “Die Nja... a letter to Limpho Hani... ANC did it”.
Mayibuye said although some people loved art and found a meaning in it, such images by Mabulu were not only counter-revolutionary but disrespectful to all the Struggle icons who sacrificed so much to fight for democracy.
He said it was true that Mandela and the likes were not “100% perfect”and had to compromise, but statements and images like these were only promoting black on black hate.
“This image has been trending for quite some time and I find it disturbing because I know that Mabulu is in the pockets of the racist white people who refuse to embrace change. That is why his images are only our black leaders he is portraying with all this nakedness.
“I saw some people looked at it as if this is good art, but as a Xhosa man he should know that we respect and hide the private parts. He is also a Rasta man so he should already have a healthy level of respect for other people. ”
While art with explicit nudity often receives backlash, some social media users thought the artwork was powerful and it was a powerful statement.
Mabulu could not be reached on his number and social media accounts for comment before going to print.
Pretoria News