Controversy over Zimbabwe billboard in SA takes new twist

By Lance Guma
11 October 2007

An attempt by South Africa’s Musina City Council to pull down a Zimbabwean billboard urging people to go back in March and vote has now backfired. The outrage around the story of armed police and soldiers swooping on ‘poster boys armed with glue’ has created massive media hype, resulting in millions of people around the world seeing the billboard on television, e-mails and websites.

On Thursday the local council tried to justify their actions by arguing the poster made use of the Zimbabwean flag in its artwork. Washington Times correspondent Geoff Hill covering the story from Musina says the story has drifted from the ‘ridiculous to the absurd’ given that a few yards from the billboard is a car yard business that has for years had flags from Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Japan flying over the premises. No attempt has been made by the council to have them pulled down.

It has now become so absurd that lawyers for the advertising company have made enquiries as to whether Musina City Council owns the rights to the Zimbabwean flag. This would at least justify their being complainants in the matter that was reported to the police. Hill meanwhile told Newsreel that national flags are public domain material that can be used for anything, provided they are not used out of context. He said he struggled to see how a flag the size of half a metre, embedded on a 30 meter wide billboard, could provoke such a response.

Its now likely lawyers for the advertising company will seek an injunction barring the council from interfering with the billboard until the matter is resolved. There is yet no evidence the South African government is behind attempts to remove the poster. There is however an ANC ruling party conference set to elect Thabo Mbeki’s successor in eight weeks time and this will be hosted in the same area. Hill suggested it could be a small town mentality, ‘where a sense of importance has gone to their heads.’ The coming conference has however fuelled speculation the ANC would rather not have the billboard in the same area as their meeting.

The South African opposition Democratic Alliance is expected to raise the issue in parliament and ask government for their official position on the matter.