After standing covered for months, the imposing statue of King Dinizulu - which faces that of General Louis Botha in Berea Road, Durban - will be officially unveiled in June when other important historic sites and statues will also be unveiled in the province.
This was confirmed by Premier S'bu Ndebele on Tuesday.
The statue, commissioned by Ndebele and cast from a design by KwaZulu-Natal sculptor Peter Hall, cost R600 000 and was completed last October. Ndebele said yesterday that the delay in unveiling Dinizulu's statue should be understood in the context of history, as it could not be unveiled on just any day.
June had been chosen for the unveiling because it marked the month when a Zulu king, Dinizulu, had knelt and prayed to the Christian God for the first time in history.
The incident had taken place in a chapel at KwaCeza, Mahlabathini on June 21 1884.
Ndebele said a statue of ANC president Albert Luthuli was also being completed, which would be erected outside the Durban International Convention Centre. Another, of King Cetshwayo, would be erected on the former Natal side of the uThukela River.
An imposing statue of the founder of the Zulu nation, King Shaka, was also to be erected, possibly also on the bank of the uThukela River.