Call to remove statue from Durban campus

THE furor surrounding the demand by University of Cape Town (UCT) students to remove a statue of Cecil John Rhodes has reached Durban, with an angry call now to remove a statue from UKZN. Three weeks ago, students from the respected UCT said they wanted the statue of Rhodes to be removed because he represented a ‘colonial legacy’.  On Tuesday a proposal from the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr Max Price, to remove the Cecil John Rhodes statue was  approved by the institution’s Senior Leadership Group (SLG).

Now students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) are demanding that the statue of King George V also be removed. The statue stands defaced in front of the Howard College Building. White paint has been thrown on it, and it has been wrapped in a blanket that reads, ‘End white privilege’.

King George V was ruler of the British empire that colonised South Africa.

The hashtag #KingGeorgeMustFall is currently flooding Twitter.