Pretoria - Is Oom Paul assured of his place on Church Square? Last week Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa said “yes”, but over the weekend he was seemingly singing a different tune.
Speaking in Soshanguve after the ANC Youth League announced the launch of a campaign on Monday for the removal of Oom Paul, Ramokgopa said the statues should not be destroyed.
“These statues should not decorate public spaces. Those who want to see (them) will go to the museums, pay an entry fee and admire them there.”
But last week, in response to a question posed by the Pretoria News about the future of the city’s statues including the Kruger statue, the mayor, through his spokesman Blessing Manale, said the metropole was holding on to its heritage as the mayor did not want to preside over a divided and polarised city.
During a weekend event in Soshanguve ANC regional youth leader Lesego Makhubela announced a campaign – starting on Monday – for the removal of the Kruger statue.
Makhubela said the statues of Paul Kruger and the four burghers at the historic Church Square must and will be removed from the heart of the nation’s capital city.
In their place must be statues of former President Nelson Mandela, towering over ANC stalwarts Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.
The name of Tshwane’s first executive mayor Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa has also been bandied about by the ANC Youth League Greater Tshwane region.
The youth movement is spearheading a campaign to remove the statue of the president of South African Republic or Transvaal during the 1883-1900 era.
Makhubela said petitions would be made available in all regions of the metropole.
“Thereafter, we will stage a big march to the office of executive mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa to deliver the petitions and memorandum calling for the removal of the statue. Paul Kruger must go.”
The petition would subsequently be tabled to the council for approval and implementation of the recommendation to remove the statue, he said.
“The statues of the soldiers holding guns alongside Kruger must also be removed. Who do they want to shoot with those guns?” Makhubela said.
Stopping short of endorsing the call for the removal of the statues, the city’s first citizen said the statues should be viewed in the context of where the capital wanted to be in the future.
Ramokgopa said the conversation surrounding the future of the statues should be held with consideration that the apartheid leaders were part of South Africa’s history.
However, he pointed out the statues did not represent the future.
“The opposition thought we were mad when Mkhatshwa and comrade Gwen Ramokgopa, as executive mayors, stated we change the municipality’s name. Today we have Tshwane, not the City of Pretoria.
“When we wanted to change the street names, they ran to the courts and we defeated them, and today the streets have been renamed,” said Ramokgopa. “When you are in power, the biggest mistake you can make is to be apologetic, because power is temporary. You must exercise the power to the fullest.”
Makhubela was speaking during the unveiling of tombstones for 11 fallen heroes and heroines of Soshanguve at Giant Stadium.
He started off by saluting all former ANC presidents, including incumbent Jacob Zuma, but eyebrows were raised when he controversially rounded off by saying “viva president Ramaphosa viva”.
The campaign comes hot on the heels of the University of Cape Town debacle where students successfully demanded the removal of the statue of British colonialist, mining magnate and Rhodesia founder Cecil John Rhodes from the campus. The statue will be handed to government authorities for safe custody.
HISTORY REVISITED
Paul Kruger’s bronze statue was commissioned by wealthy industrialist Sammy Marks and sculpted by Anton van Wouw in 1896.
The statue was installed at Church Square after it had been at Prince’s Park and the Pretoria Station. It was unveiled by Prime Minister Dr DF Malan on October 11, 1954.
The square was initially used as a market place and sports field, and the first church was built in 1855.
Church Square attracts tourists from all over the world.
It is surrounded by historical buildings that boast beautiful architecture, with the Oom Paul statue as a central feature.
Pretoria News