Libreville - Two police officers failed to appreciate the joke when a Gabonese cartoonist knocked off a sketch of them enjoying a Guinness in a Libreville bar.
Instead they hustled Patrick Essono, who draws under the name Pahe, into prison, where he spent 36 hours before he was released on Sunday, he told AFP afterwards.
"I wanted to give them the drawing, but in the end it did not amuse them," Pahe said. "Then things took a bizarre turn. They wanted to arrest me."
While he was "well treated" in the two police stations where he spent Friday and Saturday nights, no-one ever asked for his version of events, nor was a statement taken, he said.
The cartoon - captioned "Aux 2 buveurs de Guinness, Bonne Soif" (To two Guinness drinkers, bottoms up) - can be seen on Pahe's blog (dipoula.paquet.li).