The Constellation of States

One of the earliest posters by Medu, this broadside caricatures P. W. Botha as a grotesque octopus. Botha was South Africa’s prime minister from 1978 to 1984 and its president from 1984 to 1989. In 1979 he attempted to forge economic and military ties with other southern African countries, a plan called the Constellation of Southern African States. This strategic offensive aimed to create a favorable external environment for the growth of the apartheid state, shielding it from internal insurgency and international condemnation. The poster exposes the neocolonial and imperial motivations of Botha’s project, which was flatly rejected by leaders across the region.