The imposing statue of General Louis Botha, the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, at the corner of Berea Road and Warwick Avenue in Durban, which was to be removed to give way to a "more acceptable" heroes' monument, has been spared in a gesture of reconciliation.
Instead, a new statue of the Zulu king Dinuzulu will be erected next to it - to recognise "great icons" of KwaZulu-Natal who were pitted in bloody wars 100 years ago.
This was announced by KwaZulu-Natal Premier S'bu Ndebele in his state-of-the-province address in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.
Ndebele said that in a move to demonstrate his government's commitment to reconciliation and building a better future for all, the statue of Queen Victoria, at the portal to the legislature in Pietermaritzburg, would also remain.
However, next to it a statue of King Cetshwayo, whose army was victorious over the British at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879, would be erected.
"To consider the future with confidence and hope requires also that we carefully consider our past," said Ndebele.
"It is to this end that my government wishes to erect two statues to our famous kings, Cetshwayo and Dinuzulu."
He said to honour these two great icons of the struggle for freedom and dignity at this point in history would prove richly symbolic.
Ndebele said it should be noted that one of the first things Botha did when he became prime minister was to arrange for Dinuzulu to be released from prison and to be settled on a farm near Middleburg.
"This release of an important political prisoner was an act of reconciliation, which I am sure the Zulu people will not easily forget," he said.
"Some of you may be aware of the fact that a fine statue of Louis Botha stands at the bottom end of Berea Road as one enters this great industrial and commercial heart of our province.
"It is my government's intention to honour King Dinuzulu by erecting a statue to him opposite his comrade-in-arms, Louis Botha.
"We should like this to happen this year, so that it can be unveiled during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Bhambatha," he said.
The future of Botha's statue had been uncertain for some time, following announcement by the city of Durban that Botha's Garden had been chosen as the most suitable site for the erection of a heroes' monument.
Suggestions were that Botha's statue should be removed to an "appropriate" museum.
Ndebele said the Cetshwayo statue was even of greater historical significance because he sacrificed so much in defence of the freedom of his people.
He said Cetshwayo had met Queen Victoria in July 1882 as a "monarch meeting a monarch".
"Who can fail to notice the irony of the fact that it is Queen Victoria whose statue stands at the portal to this democratic parliament?
And that King Cetshwayo, a noble king who suffered monumental injustice at the hands of military forces acting in the name of Queen Victoria, remains unrecognised in this capital city?
"This simply has to be put right. And we wish to do so with all the dignity and decorum which marked the character of our great King Cetshwayo," he said.
Both statues will be erected by Amafa kaZulu, a heritage agency headed by Arthur Koningkramer.