Iman Rappetti, the senior anchor from the eNews Channel (DStv 403) and co-anchor of Morning News Today on the 24 hour news channel was right there on Tuesday when the controversial Zuma painting, The Spear" was smeared by two men.
ALSO READ: MUST WATCH VIDEO: Iman Rappetti sees The Spear getting smeared.
I asked Iman Rappetti about the incident she witnesses first-hand as the news was happening in which she suddenly found herself right in the centre of.
What was the very first thing you thought in that moment when you realized that you're seeing what you're seeing and that the painting is being defaced and painted?
It was a moment of surrealness for me. I was there as an observer - there to see the exhibition for myself. Just standing there, taking pictures when the first man appeared and begain to paint the "X" over the area depicting the president's genitals.
My first thought, based on his seemingly calm exterior, was perhaps this is the foreign buyer, maybe it's his paiting and this is what he's choosing to do with it. That changed to surprise, then suspicion as he proceeded to paint a red "X" over the face. Something didn't feel right about it. That's why I asked 'Are you supposed to be doing that?' After that I was convinced it was 'off' - especially since he calmly put down his pot of paint, closed it and seemed headed towards the exit without being detected by security guards.
I raised the alarm, at this point oblivious to the second man. The guards had rushed in. They were not aware of the first man until myself and Khaya FM's Lance Klaasen alerted them. By this time they had taken the second guy down and all hell broke loose. That's why in the video you seem me asking them why they were arresting the black gentleman when the older white man that I saw was going to get away. I didn't know then that the other guy had also smeared the paint on the canvass.
Was there a moment when you thought things might spiral out of control and what might happen to your own safety, or were you not self-aware of your own "place" as you were in the moment and observing this bisarre event unfold?
I don't think I was in any danger. I didn't think about myself at all. I just thought I had to act when I witnessed something wrong happening right in front of me.
Did you tell the cameraman what to do, or did you just focus on getting to the alleged perpetrators to tak to them? What went through your mind?
It was only after we left the gallery that I was told that the 3rd Degree crew was there. And that they caught it all on tape. I had been taking pictures with my iPad. I thought that was the only document of what had happened. I at no time directed the crew.
Besides the whole event, is there something specifically which you will never forget, or an arbitrary emotion, or something you observed? What will you always remember?
I'm really saddened by all this incident has thrown up: the lack of tolerance, the absence of reason, knee jerk emotions, people taking the law into their own hands. We have to be civilised; guided by reason. Everyone needs to calm down and take a step back. It feels as if we are in a really fragile state. There has to be leadership and restraint on all sides.
What we do now will go a long way in defining who South Africa becomes tomorrow. I hated becoming part of the story. As a journalist that's the last thing you want. Sometimes it's unavoidable and people criticise and judge you.
The two men had no right to take the law into their own hands, the matter should have been resolved across town at the South Gauteng High Court before a full bench of judges. Whether I found the painting insulting or not, on a personal level, it was not for them to destroy the painting while the country waited for a court ruling. That is why I felt it important to intervene in that moment.
We should never forget what Nelson Mandela said, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to do so."
