Mugabe grilled in South African chicken ad
Those were the days, Mr. Mugabe.
A South African satirical television commercial, for the Nando鈥檚 Chicken restaurants, has captured the South African imagination, depicting Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe鈥檚 difficulty in coming up with enough dictators to come to a Christmas Party this festive season.
Called 鈥淭he Last Dictator Standing,鈥� (attached at the bottom of this article) the commercial imagines Mugabe and Muammar Qaddafi having a watergun fight; Mao Zedong and Mugabe singing karaoke; Saddam Hussein and Mugabe making snow angels, in the sand, in their boxer shorts; Mugabe and Idi Amin mimicking that front-of-the Titanic 鈥渇lying鈥� scene aboard a tank; and most improbably of all, Mugabe pushing apartheid defender P.W. Botha in a swing.
Alas, whether by NATO bombs or natural causes, all are now dead. It鈥檚 going to be a lonely Christmas.
Though quite popular 鈥� the commercial went viral on youtube 鈥� , citing physical threats to staff and customers at the Nando鈥檚 fanchises inside Zimbabwe. Apparently, youth members of Mugabe鈥檚 ZANU-PF party had begun to protest outside Nando鈥檚 chain stores in Harare and elsewhere in the country.
鈥淲e feel strongly that this is the prudent step to take in a volatile climate and believe that no TV commercial is worth risking the safety of Nando鈥檚 staff and customers,鈥� South Africa鈥檚 Times newspaper quoted Nando鈥檚 as saying on Wednesday.
Yet, the very fact that a chicken restaurant becomes a venue for political satire is an interesting statement about freedom of expression in South Africa, and the way in which South Africans talk about politics. For a country that itself emerged from more than four decades of racist authoritarian rule, political satire has a powerful effect, and acts as a release valve for tensions that still crop up in a society where racial and class differences still have the potential to divide.
鈥淵ou have a very different culture in South Africa, compared to other African countries,鈥� says Gus Silber, a journalist and screenwriter based in Johannesburg. 鈥淚n most other African countries, it鈥檚 a crime to denigrate the head of state. So South Africa is a lot more open in that way.鈥�
Insulting the president is still a crime in Zimbabwe, a fact that may have led local Nando鈥檚 franchises to distance themselves from the South African ad campaign, with Musekiwa Kumbula, corporate affairs director for Nando鈥檚 biggest shareholder, calling the ad
South African satire may be 鈥渁 bit broader鈥� and stereotyped than the sophisticated commentary on Jon Stewart鈥檚 Daily Show, Mr. Silber adds, but then again, South African politicians have a penchant for broad over-the-top statements and actions themselves.
鈥淲hen you look at what Julius Malema鈥� the ruling ANC鈥檚 ousted youth league leader 鈥渁nd President Jacob Zuma do in reality, it鈥檚 hard to beat that in satire,鈥� Silber says.
Nando鈥檚 is certainly not the only source of satire in South Africa. Political cartoonist Zapiro portrays South African President Zuma with a showerhead coming out of his forehead, a reminder of Zuma鈥檚 court statement in a rape trial that he had taken a shower after having what he insisted was consensual sex with a woman who was HIV positive. The online satirical website Hayibo has made a name for itself with nonsensical news articles such as this one about the Durban climate change conference, advising delegates to
Sipho Hlongwane, a political correspondent for the , says that while Americans are often cynical about the mainstream media 鈥� and therefore seek out comedians like Jon Stewart and Bill Maher for a hint of political truth 鈥� South Africans show 鈥渁 little more respect for authority in the media, which actually leaves a massive gap for irreverence鈥� by satire outlets and yes, by chicken restaurants like Nando鈥檚.
The Nando鈥檚 ad went down predictably well among the South African chattering class, Mr. Hlongwane adds, but 鈥淚 doubt that it would be accepted any differently among poorer communities. They will have partly blamed Mugabe鈥檚 regime for the influx of foreigners from Zimbabwe, which leads to xenophobic tensions which have never quite died down.鈥�
Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox.聽
