Durban - If the Msane Tribe Heritage Trust has its way, the statue of Sir Theophillus Shepstone and other colonial symbols would be removed from the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
The statues of Shepstone and Queen Victoria were expected to top the agenda when the trust’s representatives made a formal request to remove colonial-era symbols to legislature speaker, Lydia Johnson, in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.
The trust is based in Mtubatuba and is aimed at fighting for the restoration of traditional leadership and land redistribution as well as promoting heritage and history.
It will be the first time in KZN that a formal request is made to authorities to have statues removed since the debate on apartheid and colonial symbols recently started.
Yesterday, the trust sought buy-in from the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to honour one of its early secretary-generals, Saul Msane, who was elected to the position in 1917.
The trust chairman, Zwakele Msane, said they planned to make a call for the removal of Shepstone’s statue and other colonial heritage symbols “out of the premises of KZN parliament”.
“Our research discovered that Shepstone was the colonial government official who was responsible for land administration and deposed a lot of amakhosi eNdabuko (traditional leaders), to replace them with colonial politically appointed chiefdoms.”
Msane also claimed that his trust had first requested the removal of the statues as far back as 2011, but the request had not been heeded by government departments or institutions.
“They just don’t respond to our correspondence, they keep quiet,” he said.
The trust wants Shepstone’s statue to be replaced with that of Zwakele Msane’s great-grandfather.
“As a trust, we wish that his statue be replaced by the one of Saul Msane, ANC founding member, and 1913 Natives Land Act resistance activist,” he said.
Johnson’s spokesman, Wonder Hlongwa, confirmed that a meeting would be held on Wednesday.
KZN Department of Arts and Culture spokesman, Lethukuthula Mtshali, said his department was not aware that the trust had previously requested the removal of the legislature’s colonial symbols.
“We are not aware, but we encourage them to make an application if they are calling for the removal of the statues.”
Mtshali said that the department was in the process of engaging communities over the apartheid and colonial public symbols.
“The statues are heritage. “We have a responsibility to preserve that heritage,” Mtshali said, adding that vandalising them was not the way to go.
He said the department’s museum and heritage unit should be approached on matters pertaining to the removal of the statues.
“It is not just about removing statues, but also about installing the new ones. If we manage it correctly, it will assist in social cohesion.”
Amafa Heritage KZN could not be reached for comment on whether it had received a request for the removal of apartheid and colonial symbols.
The acting chief executive was in a meeting and did not respond to e-mails on Tuesday afternoon.
ANC provincial secretary, Sihle Zikalala, confirmed his party had met the trust’s representative over Msane’s recognition.
“They talked to us and it is our view that the recognition of Msane should be recorded in line with ANC history. We will consolidate that and see where to place his recognition,” he said.
Zikalala said the ANC was not opposed to the removal of apartheid and colonial statues, but it did not have a policy on how they should be replaced.
Daily News