Oom Paul statue fenced up against vandals
OOM Paul Kruger’s statue received extra protection from vandals when the fencing surrounding it was repaired after being ripped down last week.
A portion of the fence surrounding the statue at Church Square in Pretoria was damaged during the EFF and DA march last week.
“The fencing around the statue has been fixed after it was damaged during the previous march,” said Tshwane metro police spokesperson Isaac Mahamba.
He said the matter was still under investigation and it was unclear who the culprits were.
At the end of the march, the city centre was in a state of disarray and four people were arrested for various looting incidents.
The decision to put fencing around the statue was prompted by several incidents of vandalism.
At one point, metro officers were deployed to guard the statue and when they were removed, it was defaced again. Barbed wire was then put around the fence.
In April last year, the statue was vandalised when green paint was thrown at it, seemingly in a protest against its existence or presence in the square.
The green paint incident prompted dialogues about what the fate of should be.
At the time, the city said a decision would be made regarding what would happen to the statue before the end of last year.
Some of the options under debate included putting it up for auction, removing it and having it placed at Fountains Valley, or put in a museum.
However, the fate of the statue has become even more unclear in the new municipal dispensation.
The office of mayor Solly Msimanga said he was still applying his mind to how to proceed when it came to the fate of Oom Paul and his position in the capital city. the statue