Rhodes statue finally falls
RHODES Must Fall student activists hailed a decision by Western Cape Heritage to approve the application to permanently remove the Cecil John Rhodes statue from UCT.
The students described the move as a victory for activists, who were suspended for demanding the statue’s removal.
After a month of heated debates and student protests to tackle “institutionalised racism” at UCT, the statue was carted away on the back of a truck to an undisclosed location in April last year.
Since student activist Chumani Maxwele flung human excrement on to the statue, the campaign for the statue’s removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to “decolonise” education across South Africa.
Maxwele said the move was an important victory as it vindicated their actions.
“We are happy that we have been proven that we were right in what we demanded. We always viewed that our protests was right. Our fellow students around the country have been arrested for protesting against fees. Their actions have been deemed to be wrong, but we know in the future they will be proven right.”
He said the decision encouraged them to do more work in changing the cultural framework at UCT.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “Heritage Western Cape’s Built Environment and Landscape Committee gave unanimous approval on October 31 to UCT’s proposal for the permanent removal from campus of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes. The statue was removed from the plinth at the bottom of the Jammie steps in April 2015 and taken to a private location for safe storage.
Separate application processes will in due course be followed by UCT for the approval by Heritage Western Cape for any conservation work on the statue, its final relocation, as well as the future of the plinth.”