Rasta strikes again! Infamous artist paints Ramaphosa at ANC manifesto launch

While the ANC manifesto launch and 107th birthday celebration at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban has attracted many attendees, one seems to be the focus of much of the commentary on the event on social media.

Infamous portrait artist Lebani ‘Ras’ Sirenje is there, and ‘Rasta’ has already been drawing ridicule for his painting of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

READ MORE: Twitter roasts ‘Rasta’ portrait artist for his creative take on ProKid

The artist is often mercilessly mocked on social media for his portraits, mainly painted at funerals and memorials, which are often slated for not looking anything like their subjects.

This time round, he did not disappoint, with a painting alleged to be of President Cyril Ramaphosa. It certainly does take liberties with its subject, perhaps even more so than some of his most famous – or infamous – previous works, depicting subjects including ProKid, HHP, and late struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Most recently, he came under fire for his less-than-flattering takes on Jay Z and Beyonce at the Global Citizen festival.

Even before he painted the president, the artist had received plenty of attention on Twitter, with many speculating as to who he would be attempting to paint today.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.