Meet Tanzanian Cartoonist and Provocateur

Godfrey Mwampembwa, popularly known as Gado, has been holding politicians accountable for nearly 30 years. Now, the cartoonist’s concern has shifted to the coronavirus. Titled “Conspiracy Inc.,” his new body of work parodied the unfounded claims that have exploded about the pandemic, which has killed nearly a quarter-million people in 177 countries. He depicted men and women promoting claims that pharmaceutical firms invented the virus, and American soldiers spread it in China, and that the Chinese government wants to use it to depopulate and conquer Africa. Gado, 50, is one of Africa’s leading editorial cartoonists. A native Tanzanian who calls Kenya his home, he has won awards and been syndicated in newspapers and digital publications worldwide. In a career that has spanned three decades, his drawings have touched on everything from corruption and terrorism to revolutions, migration, religion and climate change.

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES