Cecil Rhodes statue vandalised at Cape Town memorial site

A statue of Cecil John Rhodes was vandalised at Cape Town’s Rhodes Memorial, with the head removed from the bust.

The SA National Park’s regional spokesperson, Lauren Howard-Clayton, confirmed to News24 that the statue had been vandalised this week, and that a case had been opened with the police.

“We did discover the vandalism of the statue. It must have happened sometime between the 12th or the 13th, either in the evening of the 12th or the morning of the 13th,” Howard-Clayton said.

“We have opened a case of vandalism with the SAPS.”

Although Howard-Clayton could not immediately confirm which part of the statue had been vandalised, Reuters reported that the head of the bust had been gouged.

Rhodes’ statue is situated on the memorial site, in Devil’s Peak in Cape Town. It is believed that the area was the colonialist’s “favourite spot”.

In 2015, the bust was also vandalised during protests dubbed Rhodes Must Fall, which were led by UCT students calling for the decolonisation of higher education and academic institution environments.

At the time, Rhodes’ nose was cut off, and there was a call for the full statue to be removed.

In 2018, the nose was restored by a local artist and historian.

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