3m tall Mandela statue brings tourists to his door
A grand wooden statue of South Africa's first democratic president, Nelson Mandela, is helping its creator and self-taught rural sculptor, Thomas Mabunda, to earn money from tourists who visit his home to see the breathtaking artwork.
LIMPOPO – Mabunda’s masterpiece was carved from a leadwood tree and shows a grey-haired Mandela wearing an ANC logo over his heart and raising his left fist in an ‘Amandla!’ salute.
The statue, which stands three metres tall in front of his house in Zanghoma (Place of Sangomas) village outside Tzaneen, has become a tourist attraction.
“Every year, tourists visit our village to watch sangomas’ graduation ceremonies and to taste our traditional food. They always come to my yard to see the statue. With the money I collect from them, I am able to buy food and clothes,” said the 59-year-old unemployed man.
The self-taught sculptor said he started carving a statue of Nelson Mandela a few weeks after the anti-Apartheid icon was released from prison on 11 February 1990.
He completed it in 1997 but it was stolen shortly thereafter.
“I was very angry. I reported the matter to the police but they didn’t take me seriously,” he said.
Mabunda added it took him nine years to make the second statue, which proudly stands in front of his yard and makes him the envy of many people in the deep-rural village. Today, his yard is popularly known as ‘Mandela Home’.
“Some people have offered to buy the statue, but I told them I am not selling. How can I sell the history of our country? Mandela is my hero and my biggest regret is that he died before I got a chance to meet him personally,” he said.
