Zuma drops suit against Times, Zapiro over rape cartoon

CAPE TOWN (AFP) - South Africa President Jacob Zuma has dropped a legal battle over a cartoon showing him about to rape a blindfolded Lady Justice figure, the newspaper he was suing reported today.

The president withdrew his lawsuit against the Sunday Times and satirical cartoonist Zapiro, who had depicted Mr Zuma in 2008 unbuckling his pants as his allies pinned the blindfolded woman to the ground and urged "Go for it, boss!" The matter had been set to go to court in Johannesburg tomorrow.

"President Zuma did the right thing in withdrawing the case. This bodes very well for media freedom. It is to be hoped that he swiftly withdraws his other 12 live cases against the media," the newspaper's lawyer Dario Milo said.

"This will send out an important signal that the president respects the right of the media to criticise his conduct."