SOUTH AFRICA, April 23, 2014 (The Media Online): The recent decision issued by the Press Appeal Panel in a complaint lodged by the South African Hindu Dharma Sabha against the Sunday Times raises important questions regarding the intersection between freedom of expression and religion. The complaint concerned a Zapiro cartoon depicting officials of Cricket South Africa (CSA) sacrificing their chief executive officer Haroon Lorgat to the Hindu deity, Lord Ganesha. The cartoon caused outrage within the Hindu community and numerous complaints were lodged with the Press Ombudsman against the Sunday Times on the basis that the cartoon disrespected Lord Ganesha.
The context in which the cartoon was published was that CSA and its Indian counterpart, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), were involved in a public spat concerning Lorgat. BCCI had reportedly insisted Lorgat should be removed as the head of CSA, failing which it would cancel games between South Africa and India and this would cause serious financial loss to CSA.
The section of the Press Code in terms of which the complaints were considered states that “except where it is strictly relevant to the matter reported and it is in the public interest to do so, the press shall avoid discriminatory or denigratory references to people’s… religion… belief, culture…”.
The Press Ombudsman said he had to weigh up the right to freedom of expression against the offence that the cartoon caused. He decided that the cartoon was primarily a comment about CSA’s reaction to the demands made by BCCI as opposed to a comment on Hindu religion. He said that if the cartoon has ridiculed Lord Ganesha, the outcome of the complaints may have been different. He concluded that although the cartoon was in bad taste, the complaints should be dismissed. On appeal the Press Appeal Panel agreed with the Ombudsman’s reasoning and dismissed the appeal.