From the Sunday Times, 25 March 2018.
Zapiro is one of the most renowned political cartoonists of South Africa, whose talent is recognized far outside the borders too. He started his career as an underground artist within the anti-apartheid movement, eventually rising up as the most distributed editorial cartoonist of his country. He was house cartoonist of the Mail & Guardian (1994-2016), Sowetan (1994-2005), the Sunday Times (1998-2016) and, since 2017, The Daily Maverick. His work has caused numerous controversies, but also received various awards. Apart from his political work, he also made educational photo comics for the Story Circle. Zapiro is additionally co-creator of the South African satirical puppet show 'Puppet Nation ZA' (2008 - ).
Early life and career
Jonathan Shapiro was born in 1958 in Cape Town, South Africa, as the son of a lawyer. His mother was a Jewish refugee of Lithuanian descent, who had fled Nazi Germany with her family during World War II. It gave her a lifelong aversion of racism and she became a vocal anti-apartheid activist and social worker. Shapiro grew up with the knowledge that apartheid was an oppressive system. At age 11, he and some other kids tried to boycott Republic Day, but otherwise his political activism only grew when he was already in university. Zapiro is the nephew of David Berglas, and the cousin of Marvin Berglas, both famous magicians.
Zapiro was stimulated to draw by his mother. At age four, he sometimes had nightmares and she suggested making drawings about them, so he could "exorcise them from his dreams." As he reflected: "The monsters disappeared, but I didn't stop drawing... At 29, I was still drawing... there were other monsters to draw", referring to politicians. Among his graphic influences are Tony Auth, Derek Bauer, Steve Bell, Patrick Chappatte, Jeff Danziger, Jules Feiffer, Carl Giles, Glez, Heng, Hergé, George Herriman, Kal (Kevin Kallaugher), Michel Kichka, Harvey Kurtzman, Jean-Jacques Loup, David Marais, Jeff MacNelly, David Marais, Alan Moir, Fred Mouton, Pat Oliphant, Mike Peters, Joel Pett, Popoli, Plantu, Gerald Scarfe, Charles M. Schulz, Ronald Searle, Posy Simmonds, Ralph Steadman, Ann Telnaes, Tom Toles, Garry Trudeau, Albert Uderzo and Willem. In adulthood, he also became a good friend of Tanzanian cartoonist Gado.
In the early 1980s, South Africa still had the military draft. To avoid being conscripted, Zapiro decided to study architecture at the University of Cape Town, since this was a "useful" profession, even though his heart wasn't really into it. He failed a semester and pulled out during another one. Eventually he managed to reach his fourth and final year. One night in 1980, before a grand exam, his teacher unexpectedly called him to take an evening walk with him. As they looked at the view on Cape Flats, he asked Zapiro whether he was really passionate about architecture. When Zapiro replied "I can't really say I am", he asked him whether he preferred cartooning, which the young student confirmed. The teacher strongly advised him to follow this path instead, which Zapiro was more than happy to do. He dropped out and went on a trip to Paris, France, in the hope of meeting 'Asterix' creator Albert Uderzo and receive some professional advice. Since he didn't speak French, he only managed to track down Uderzo's studio late in the evening, when it was already closed. He decided to go directly to the artist's house, which was nearby. For a moment, he hesitated, since it was already about 23:00. But eventually he realized he might never get such an opportunity again and rang the bell. To his luck, Uderzo had just returned from an evening out with his wife and not gone to bed yet. But neither he or his wife spoke English. Again, Dame Fortune smiled at Zapiro, because Uderzo's daughter was also home and studied English at the Sorbonne. Acting as a translator, she was able to conduct a 10 minute conversation between him and his idol, leaving him more confident than ever to become a cartoonist.
During his stay in Europe, Zapiro also visited Studio Hergé in Brussels, Belgium. But the 'Tintin' creator was already terminally ill by that point and unavailable. Instead, Zapiro was led around in the studio by his co-worker Bob de Moor.
'Behind the Barbed Wire Curtain' (1988).
Early cartooning career (1983-1988)
Back in South Africa in 1982, Zapiro's parents were surprisingly understanding that he had given up his architectural studies a day before his final exam and wanted to study art instead. In February 1982, he therefore took a course in Graphic Design at the Michaelis School of Fine Art. Unfortunately, Zapiro had postponed his draft service too often. Halfway his academy year, he was forced to join the army. The young recruit decided to get as physically fit as possible, so he could withstand exhausting exercises, since he wanted to refuse carrying a gun. After seven weeks of trying to make him obey, his lieutenant found a compromise. He let Zapiro carry a lead pole, so he could at least march along with the other soldiers. Although the pole was heavier than a rifle, Zapiro liked the fact that it made both him and his superior look utterly ridiculous. The joke got even better when higher officers noticed him and scolded the lieutenant who had given him this ridiculous object. Zapiro was told to get rid of the pole, but he secretly kept it and still has it in his studio. A souvenir and reminder of his very first succesful rebellion against the system.
In 1983, the army transferred Zapiro to his hometown in Cape Town, where he was given administrative work. He served as a graphic draughtsman for a naval office in Simonstown on the Cape Peninsula, which gave him the privilege of being allowed to go home after work. While still in the army, Zapiro became active in the underground anti-apartheid movement, joining the United Democratic Front and the End Conscription Campaign, for whom he also designed their logo. Zapiro also designed posters and cartoons for them and various anti-apartheid organisations. Since no recent photographs of Nelson Mandela, who had been imprisoned since 1962, were available, Zapiro went to the library and found one in a banned book, which he copied and printed on posters. Soon he was arrested and briefly imprisoned under the Illegal Gatherings Act.
Sticker by Zapiro, issued by the U.D.F. (1980s).
After his military service, Zapiro continued his resistance against apartheid, while friends and relatives were wiretapped, harassed and arrested. His mother spent six weeks in Pollsmoor Prison, and his sister seven. Zapiro gained more prominence by publishing cartoons in various alternative newspapers, distributed in the townships. In 1984, Zapiro became a cartoonist for the Mail & Guardian, The Weekly Mail, The New Nation and the radical magazine Die Suid Afrikaan. When the newspaper South was founded in 1987, he drew for their pages too, while a year later his work could also be found in The Sunday Times. He signed his work with the pseudonym "Zap", eventually settling on "Zapiro". The name was inspired by a fellow high school student of Hungarian descent, whose name was "Szapiro". Since it sounded similar to his name "Shapiro", many people thought they were brothers and called him "Zapiro", meaning "the younger Zap".
One of Zapiro's most significant works was an illustration for a 1987 United Democratic Front calendar. The drawing, titled 'UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides', depicts various common people resisting against the government. Each character represents a specific UDF personality. Zapiro included caricatures of activists Jonathan "Jojo" Shapiro, Fatima Meer, Alain Boesak, archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as himself (entering a building with drawings), his wife, mother and sister. In every corner of the illustration, symbolic secret messages and anti-apartheid slogans can be detected. Zapiro deliberately drew everything in a "cute cartoony style" to appeal to readers, while still acknowledging the harsh reality of the political situation. He didn't sign his drawing and, at lawyer's advice, removed a black strip on the bottom of the green and yellow bus, to avoid referencing the banned ANC party. In the end it didn't matter, since the police already arrested him the next day, keeping him detained for two weeks. During interrogation, they asked him why he had depicted the police as "pigs" and replied: "I draw what I see." Eventually he was freed again, since they had confused him with the activist "JoJo" Shapiro, the man they really were after.
Cartoon featuring Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk (1990).
Stay in the United States (1988-1991)
In 1988, Zapiro got tired of fighting against the system and wanted to continue his artistic studies, preferably outside South Africa. At his girlfriend's advice, he applied for a Fulbright Scholarship. As luck would have it, anybody who had finished three years of architecture, suddenly received a degree, regardless whether they passed or not. This allowed him to receive a scholarship for a year of non-degree study at a school of his choice. Right before he left, Zapiro organized an exhibition of his political cartoons, 'Laughter in the Belly of the Beast' (15 June - 6 July 1988), at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. He was arrested, spending 11 days in detention, including five in solitary confinement.
Once back on free feet in August, Zapiro instantly left for the United States, studying media arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York, particularly because he had heard that Art Spiegelman taught there. But much to his disappointment, Spiegelman hadn't taught in the school for about a year. The South African foreign student was still excited to receive lessons from other distinguished comic veterans like Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman. Through the school's principal, Zapiro was eventually able to receive an independent training by Spiegelman for a semester. He learned a lot about visualizing ideas on an accessible level, to properly communicate with readers.
Mail & Guardian, 22 February 2004.
Later cartooning career (1991- )
In 1991, Zapiro returned to South Africa, which had radically changed since his departure three years earlier. A new President, F.W. de Klerk, had liberated Nelson Mandela in 1990 and legalized his party ANC. The United Democratic Front therefore disbanded itself, absolving into the ANC. In 1993, apartheid was abolished and the first democratic elections in the country became possible. A year later, Nelson Mandela was elected President. While some feared that racial tensions and violence might escalate, Mandela's charisma managed to smoothen the transition from apartheid-torn South Africa to the new "rainbow nation". Zapiro was very excited about all these developments. He designed posters for the first democratic elections and met Mandela a couple of times throughout his career. However, between 1991 and 1994, Zapiro didn't really know how to draw political cartoons about his rapidly changing country. Instead, he focused on making educational (photo) comics, like the AIDS education book 'Roxy: Life, Love and Sex in the Nineties' (1992), a child abuse prevention work, 'A Trolley Full of Rights' (1993), and a guide on democracy, 'Tomorrow People' (1994). All books were published by the Story Circle, an imprint co-founded by Zapiro. 'A Trolley Full of Rights' was later used by UNICEF and distributed in other African countries too.
'A Trolley Full of Rights' (1993).
Eventually, Zapiro felt he had a better grasp of the "new" South Africa and took up political cartooning again. In February 1994, he returned to his former position as editorial cartoonist for the Mail & Guardian, succeeding Derek Bauer, and Die Suid-Afrikaan. He also joined the magazine Sowetan in July of that same year, succeeding Len Sak. Between 1996 and 1998, his cartoons could also be seen in Cape Argus. When he left this publication, he received a personal phone call from President Nelson Mandela, who expressed his disappointment that he could no longer follow Zapiro's cartoons in his favorite paper. Between 1998 and 2018, Zapiro appeared in the Sunday Times. After leaving the Sowetan in 2005, Zapiro drew cartoons for the Pretoria News until 2008. Between May 2009 and 2016, he was again a mainstay in the pages of the Sunday Times. In 2016, Zapiro left both the Sunday Times and the Mail & Guardian. His work has also appeared in the Cape Ties, Pretoria News, The Star and The Mercury. Since 2017, he is the house cartoonist of The Daily Maverick.
Political comic strip for Sowetan, 6 May 1997, depicting Laurent Kabila, Nelson Mandela and Mobutu Seko Seko.
In interviews, Zapiro stated that he grew more critical of post-apartheid South Africa, since the foreign image of his country as a happy "rainbow nation" is pure wishful thinking. The country still faces many problems caused by race and class divisions. Despite admiring Mandela, he also criticized him and his administration. Zapiro also drew his venom at many organisations, parties and people he once considered allies in the struggle against apartheid, but whom he now saw being corrupted by power, or otherwise do and say foolish things. Although he sometimes felt conflicted about this, he always kept his 1998 telephone conversation with Mandela in mind. When he asked the President about cartoons critical of his administration, the 80-year old politician reminded him: "But that is your job!". Through his work within the anti-apartheid movement and having been arrested several times, Zapiro also built up credibility as a critic of both the political left and right. Earlier in his career, when he didn't appear in the media yet, many assumed he was black, since he had such a good understanding of the struggles of the black population. His cartoons are therefore enjoyed and respected by a huge segment of the South African population. By appearing in talkshows, he became acknowledged as an important political commentator. Zapiro is additionally notable for being a Jewish cartoonist who is critical of all religions and the Israeli government.
Interviewed by Laura Brick for ShoutOut U.K. (11 January 2022), Zapiro stated that he still has hope for the future, "otherwise I would probably stop doing what I do." A clear testament of the impact of his drawings was a 2001 cartoon mocking director-general of correctional services Khulekani Sithole, who proposed to house prisoners in disused mine shafts as a solution to overcrowded prisons. Zapiro drew Sithole's pointing at a diagram ("disused mine shaft"), while a diagram of his skull shows a void ("disused brain cavity"). Zapiro later learned that his cartoon convinced some members of parliament to not follow through on Sithole's proposal.
Cartoon from 11 September 2008, depicting President Jacob Zuma.
Jacob Zuma controversies
Zapiro often found himself at the center of various controversies and death threats. His satirical attacks on South African President Jacob Zuma in particular have become infamous, especially since he actually tried to sue the cartoonist for defamation. In 2006, Zuma was accused of having raped the daughter of a family friend, but he implied it had been consensual, albeit unprotected sex. She was also HIV-positive, but Zuma made the bonkers claim that he managed to avoid AIDS "by taking a shower afterwards." Zapiro drew Zuma taking a court oath, while holding his fingers crossed. The policitian promptly sued him, because the image implied he was either a "habitual liar" or "would lie on the witness stand". On 9 May 2006, Zuma sued again when Zapiro drew him as a pig-headed buffoon with a machine gun firing from his groin. The politician additionally wears a Zulu cape and has a shower faucet on his head, claiming: "My credibility is intact". In the following years, Zapiro continued to draw Zuma with a shower faucet on his head.
On 8 September 2008, Zuma was acquitted. The next day, Zapiro drew a cartoon for the Sunday Times, in which Zuma prepares to rape Lady Justice, while the ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, the ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, the South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande and the COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) president Zwelinzima Vavi hold her down. The drawing sparked enormous controversy, especially among Zuma supporters. A few days later, Zuma and Mantashe issued statements that they respected the judicial system. This prompted Zapiro to redraw the cartoon, depicting Zuma and his cronies assuring their rape victim: "But before we start, I just want to say how much we respect you!". Both the paper and Zapiro were sued by the ANC, the ANC Youth League and, for the third time, by Zuma. The scandalous cartoon received national attention and abroad. In late 2012, a day before the Zuma vs. Zapiro case was heard in court, Zuma unexpectedly dropped his lawsuit about the 'Rape of Lady Justice' cartoon. In May 2013, he dropped the others too.
Even when Zuma became President (2009-2018), Zapiro kept targeting him. In reference to Zuma's polygamy and 20 children, he drew several babies with faucet-heads falling from the sky, dubbing it a literal "baby shower". In 2011, Zuma and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe were depicted preparing to rape a woman with the words "Free Speech" on her body, while Lady Justice encourages her: "Fight, sister, fight!". On 18 April 2017, a cartoon by Zapiro depicted a woman representing South Africa, being held down to be raped, while Zuma tells a member of the Gupta family it's his turn now. The Gupta's media concern had often promoted and defended Zuma's policies. The cartoon shows three extra people holding South Africa down, namely New Age editor Moegsien Williams, State Security Minister David Mahlobo and former Minister of Social Development Bathabile Diamini. The cartoon angried the Pro Active Education Group, the Commission for Gender Equality, and radio & TV host Ashraf Garda. However, Zapiro stated that the cartoon was a metaphor for several institutions that had become accomplices in Zuma's disregard for justice and the state.
Zapiro's constant depiction of Zuma with a showerhead on his forehead became part of South African folklore. As Zuma's administration grew more impopular, activists actually made mining helmets with showerheads attached to them, to ridicule the President. In February 2018, Zuma had to resign amidst charges of corruption. Zapiro drew a cartoon reading "The end of an error" (a pun on "the end of an era"), with one of the letters "r" being a shower faucet.
The controversial cartoon depicting the South African cricket organisation CSA sacrificing chief executive Haroon Lorgat, 28 October 2013.
Other controversies
Throughout his long career, Zapiro also outraged other people. On 20 May 2010, in the wake of the international cartoonists' campaign 'Draw Muhammad Day', launched by Molly Norris, Zapiro drew the Prophet Muhammad lying on a psychiatrist's couch, complaining: "Other prophets have followers with a sense of humour". Many Muslim readers were furious and the Council of Muslim Theologians unsuccesfully tried to ban the drawing. The South African Ulema Body filed an application to the High Court in Johannesburg to suspend the publication, because the image could provoke violence in the country in the run-up to the World Cup. Zapiro also received several death threats. On 9 July 2016, four suspected terrorists were arrested by the South African police. They had ties with the Muslim fundamentalist terrorist group IS and planned a series of attacks on embassies, Jewish institutions and individuals in Pretoria. One of their planned targets was Zapiro.
On 5 September 2000, a cartoon by Zapiro showing a blank space was published, with the tagline: "Whites who never benefited from apartheid." Many white South Africans felt unsulted, but Zapiro's point was that even whites who opposed apartheid during its heydays, like him, still received opportunities that colored people never enjoyed. In 2013, Nelson Mandela's health rapidly started to decline. In April of that year, Zapiro drew South Africa holding Mandela's hand at his death bed, while the dying politician says: "I know it's hard, but we have to start letting go." Some editors felt the tagline was too disturbing and ordered to just publish the drawing, but the original cartoon with the tagline still accidentally got published. A couple of months later, Zapiro drew Mandela's face on the map of South Africa, symbolizing the country. Yet, some readers misinterpreted the drawing as if their beloved former President was drowning.
On 30 July 2007, Zapiro was asked to comment on Hergé's controversial 'Tintin' story 'Tintin in the Congo', which had recently received its first English translation. The story has been accused of promoting colonialism, game hunting and depicting black people as lazy and stupid. However, Zapiro defended the album, since he doesn't believe in censorship and felt that it should be viewed and presented in the proper historical context: "It was well documented that Hergé was ashamed of his attitudes that he held when he was younger. I also found the book patronising and derogatory, but people do change." However, the next day the article was printed with the sensationalist and misleading headline "Zapiro thinks racist comic should be published", which led to many angry reactions.
On 28 October 2013, Zapiro drew a cartoon depicting members of the South African cricket organisation (CSA) trying to sacrifice their chief executive Haroon Lorgat to Ganesha, depicted with a Board of Control for Cricket in India sign on its turban and paying them money. The cartoon criticized how the Indian Cricket Board forced the South African cricket organisation to sell Lorgat to them, despite their personal wealth. South African Hindu organisations like the Hindu Maha Sabha and Hindu Dharma Sabha demanded an apology. While Zapiro refused to apologize, he did emphasize it wasn't his intention to offend the Hindu community. He also explained that Ganesha is traditionally seen as a remover of obstacles.
On 24 May 2016, the Sunday Times published a cartoon depicting President Zuma as an organ grinder, while the head of the NPA, Shaun Abrahams, is a monkey dancing to his tune. The drawing referenced the more than 700 charges of corruption against President Zuma, while the NPA had dropped Zuma's prosecution. In 2016, the court ruled that the NPA's decision had been irrational. However, the drawing offended several black readers, who felt the depiction of a black person as a monkey was racist. This marks one of the few times Zapiro ever apologized for a cartoon, stating that it was "a mistake in hindsight." Zapiro caused uproar among Christian readers on 16 April 2017, during the Easter Week, when he drew South Africa as a crucified Jesus, while ANC leader Gwede Mantashe is depicted as Pontius Pilate with blood stained hands. President Zuma uses his shower faucet to wash away the guilt.
On 1 January 2021, a December 2014 cartoon credited to Zapiro went viral. It references the ongoing electricity problems in South Africa, blamed on the Eskom company. The cartoon depicts two workers replacing a Megawatt sign with one reading "Megatwat". Many social media users loved the pun on the derogatory word "twat", but the original punchline by Zapiro had 'Megawat'' being replaced with "Microwatt". Zapiro reacted on his Facebook page that this altered cartoon was copyright infringement.
Throughout his career, and because of his media fame, Zapiro has sometimes been threatened by people who recognize him in public. One time he was in Johannesburg for a book launch, when a angry man lifted his middle finger at him from behind a window. Another time, during a World Cup Fan Walk, another person beat him up, using a black vuvuzela to hit him. Interviewed by Raymond Joseph for Sage Journals, Zapiro stated that most of outrage over his cartoons on social media comes from "people waiting to be offended, some living in echo chambers hearing just themselves. This got amplified onto a bigger stage where even things used ironically or used to criticise others were then pounced on, twisted and convoluted, in order to have everyone conform to multiple banal sets of canards. Different people have different things they are politically correct about. But this becomes a minefield when all of these people assert their beliefs. This is very difficult to deal with and the nuance gets lost in a cartoon."
The Daily Maverick, 18 October 2023.
Puppetry and figurines
Since the 1990s, Zapiro and French producer Thierry Cassuto have tried to get a satirical puppet show in the air, inspired by Peter Fluck and Roger Law's satirical puppet show 'Spitting Image' in the United Kingdom. One of their puppeteers, Jeffrey Fineberg, made a puppet out of Nelson Mandela. When Mandela resigned as President in 1999, Zapiro smuggled his puppet past the guards to confront him at a garden party. The retired politician was very amused with his life-size latex caricature. For several years, Zapiro and Cassuto went to every TV station in South Africa, but all rejected the idea of a satirical puppet show, feeling the people wouldn't be ready for it. In 2008, they launched it as an online show, available on YouTube and the site ZANews, in co-production with the low-cost airline Kulula.com and French 'Spitting Image' show 'Les Guignols de l'Info'. Originally titled 'ZaNews', it was retitled as 'Puppet Nation. ZA' in 2013. Also in collaboration wtih Zapiro, the Tanzanian cartoonist Gado made a similar satirical puppet series, 'The XYZ Show' (2009).
'Zanews', AKA 'Puppet Nation. ZA', quickly became a viral sensation and won several awards. It featured puppets of several South African political figures, including Nelson Mandela, Jacob Zuma, Desmond Tutu and far-right activist Eugene Terre'Blanche. Media personalities, like journalist Debora Patta, actress Charlize Theron and rugby star Pieter de Villiers were included too. Inspired by the small caricatural figurines made by the 'Spitting Image' team, Zapiro also made similar figurines of Nelson Mandela, Julius Malema, Jacob Zuma and Desmond Tutu for people to buy. The real-life Tutu saw his figurine and was amused that Zapiro had designed him with a "big nose".
'50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa' and '50 Flippen Brilliant South Africans'.
Graphic contributions
With Alexander Parker, Zapiro brought out '50 Flippen Briljant South Africans' (2012), '50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa' (2014) and '50 People Who F***ed Up South Africa: The Lost Decade' (2020), all published by Mercury. He also illustrated Patrick Bond's 'Talk Left, Walk Right: South Africa's Frustrated Global Reforms' (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2006), Chester Missing's 'Guide to the Elections '14' (Jacana Media, 2014) and Tony Heard's '8.000 Days: Mandela, Mbeki and Beyond: The Inside Story of an Editor in the Corridors of Power' (Missing Ink, 2020).
Recognition
In 2001, Zapiro became the first cartoonist to win a prize in the "African Journalist of the Year" awards by CNN. In 2005, he received the Prince Claus Award, the Honorary Sunday Times Alan Paton Literary Award and the Communicator of the Year Award. The Cartoonists Rights Network honored him with the Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award (2007), while he also won the International Entwicklungspolitik award at an international cartoon competion with Africa as subject. In 2007, the mayor of Cape Town handed him the "Woman Demand Dignity White Ribbon Award". In 2008, he was asked by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to produce an exhibition in honor of Mandela's 90th birthday.
In 2009, Zapiro received the Press Freedom Award, handed out by the Media Institute of Southern Africa. The International Publishers Association bestowed him with their 2012 "Freedom to Publish" award, while the same year he also received the Standard Bank Sikuvile Award for Editorial Cartoons. On 8 October 2016, the EWK-Society honored him with the EWK-Prize, while a year later, Wag the Dog Publishers gave him the Most Bell Award. In 2018, Zapiro received the Standard Bank Sikivule Newspaper Journalism Award for Editorial Cartooning. On 14 November 2019, Zapiro was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.
Zapiro won the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Award for Graphic Journalism four times, namely in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008. In 2009, he also received their award for Editorial Cartoons. Twice he won the Vodacom Cartoonist of the Year Award (2006, 2009) and the SA Comedy Award for Best Humorous Cartoon (2007, 2008). In 2003, he represented Africa as part of a cartoonists' delegation at the World Economic Forum. Zapiro was named honorary doctor of Literature (2004) by the University of Transkei (now part of the Walter Sisulu University). In 2008, Rhodes University named him a "honorary doctor of Laws". He has held solo cartoon exhibitions in South Africa, but also in New York, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dhaka and Sweden.
Zapiro has also received praise from Nelson Mandela and calypso musician Harry Belafonte. Belafonte once hugged him because of a cartoon he drew of U.S. Vice President Colin Powell and told him: "I couldn't imagine a white guy had drawn that." Zapiro considered it one of his best compliments.
Legacy and influence
Since 2013, the Zapiro Lane in Gugulethu, Cape Town, has been named after him. Zapiro was a strong influence on Sivuyile Matwa.
Self-portrait (9 July 1999).