DURBAN:010610 Zulu King Shaka is depicted examining cows in this exhibit at the new King Shaka International Airport in La Mercy. The statue is being removed today because of objections to the way in which Shaka is depicted. The Zulu royal family feels that the king is not displayed as the fierce warrior he was reputed to be. PICTURES: GCINA NDWALANE PICTURE:GCINA NDWALANE DURBAN:010610 Zulu King Shaka is depicted examining cows in this exhibit at the new King Shaka International Airport in La Mercy. The statue is being removed today because of objections to the way in which Shaka is depicted. The Zulu royal family feels that the king is not displayed as the fierce warrior he was reputed to be. PICTURES: GCINA NDWALANE PICTURE:GCINA NDWALANE
Durban – The new “gigantic” statue of King Shaka is almost complete, according to Premier Senzo Mchunu
’s office.
“Considerable work has been done and it should be completed soon. I was invited by the artist (Peter Hall) to go and view the statue, but at the moment I haven’t found time to do so,” Mchunu told the Daily News last week.
“There will be consultation between my office and the king (Goodwill Zwelithini) with regard to the date of having the statue installed at King Shaka International Airport.”
The original statue of Shaka was unveiled in 2010 but was later dismantled after an outcry from certain quarters, the Zulu royal household in particular, that it was not an apt depiction of the stature of the great Zulu leader.
The statue had shown Shaka with his Nguni cattle.
Only the statue of the king was removed, and the Nguni cattle remained at the spot outside the airport’s main entrance.
The artist responsible for them, Andries Botha, said he was still waiting for the remaining pieces of his artwork to be taken down.
Botha was adamant that he wanted them removed.
“I haven’t heard anything from the authorities in two years. The remaining pieces are harming my intellectual property rights,” he said last week.
He acknowledged, however, that the parties involved had paid him his fee.
Botha said he was owed “the dignity” of his hard work, which he said in its current form had lost the meaning of the original idea.
The then premier, Zweli Mkhize, had appointed a task team in 2011 which commissioned Hall to construct a new R3.5 million statue.
Ndabe Sibiya, Mchunu’s spokesman, said a formal announcement about the future of the cattle sculptures would be made once Hall’s project had been completed.
Dr Vusi Shongwe, general manager in the heritage division of the premier’s office, said the new statue was in the foundry.
“They are now applying the bronze coat, and these are final touches. The 5m-tall statue is gigantic and we’re looking forward to the day it will be erected at the airport.”