Zuma drops lawsuit over rape cartoon

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 Sunday.The president withdrew his lawsuit against the Sunday Times and satirical cartoonist Zapiro, who had depicted 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 on Monday.“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.”Zuma had filed a claim for five million rand ($580,000, 445,000 euros) for damage to his reputation and injury to his dignity two years after the cartoon was published.Last week it was reported that had dropped his demands to compensation of 100,000 rand and an apology.Agencies