RASTA’s painting of the late tigress, Sheba, has left Mzansi in stitches.
He told Daily Sun that even though his fans might find humour in his painting, he believes that he’s the reason the tigress was eventually found and put down.
He said he was hoping that Sheba would meet a pit bull, especially with the recent increase in deaths caused by pit bulls.
The search for Sheba, the tigress that escaped from its enclosure on Friday, 13 January, came to an end on Wednesday morning, 18 January.
She was put down in the Midvaal area.
Lebani Sirenje, aka Rasta The Artist, said people were surprised that he also paints wild animals.
“Yes, I do wildlife as well. It shouldn’t be a shocker. Some of my fans know about the work I’ve done on wildlife. I’m great at it, just like with my other work,” said Rasta.
He also told Daily Sun that he painted Sheba to raise awareness.
“People were just sharing pictures from the internet. I thought it would be the right thing to do a portrait of Sheba,” said Rasta.
“I wanted people to be safe and stay home because I realised that it was taking officials longer to catch this deadly animal,” he said.
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He said he was frustrated by how this animal was terrorising people, but he’s happy that his painting helped to identify Sheba.
“People will always criticise my work but at this point, I don’t care. South Africa is safe and sound. That’s what matters,” said Rasta.
