Church Square statues defaced again

Democratic Alliance’s Ward 58 councillor Elma Nel said she received a call about this from the owner of a nearby restaurant early on Tuesday morning, Rekord East reported.

“She told me that they were surprised to see that, once again, statues had been defaced by means of being painted. Apparently this happened during the night,” she said.

Lame Ebersohn, owner of Café Riche on Church Square, said the northern side of the security fence constructed around the statues had been open for at least two weeks.

“When I came to work this morning, I realised that there was fresh green paint sprayed on the smaller statues around Paul Kruger. I immediately contacted the councillor,” she said

“It is disappointing to see in this day and age that there are those people who are not tolerant of our history. South Africa is a diverse nation and should embrace its history in its totality,” she said.

“Apart from disrespecting our history, this is an act of criminality which will be reported to the metro police and the police for investigation.”

Nel said the statue was a prime tourist attraction and should be protected at all costs.

The African National Congress Youth League in ward 59 in Sunnyside said it was not aware of the defacing of the statues.

“That does not mean that we won’t be marching to the metro to demand that the statues be removed,” said Lucas Mpilo, the branch secretary.

He said preparations were at an advanced stage for the march. A date would be announced soon.

Parts of the Paul Kruger statue were painted green in April following calls for its removal.

Two of the four bronze sentries beneath the statue of the Transvaal Republic president were covered in bright green paint and the raised figure of Kruger was largely left untouched.

–          Caxton News Service