A statue of a person dead for 113 years does not often overwhelm a leading university and dominate national headlines.
But earlier this month, politics student Chumani Maxwele emptied a bucket of excrement over the statue of Cecil John Rhodes at the centre of the University of Cape Town’s campus in South Africa.
Mr Maxwele’s protest has electrified longstanding resentments about the ways in which the past is remembered and celebrated. It has also crystallised deep and entrenched disagreements about student admissions, the university curriculum and academic appointments.
Rhodes was a British Victorian mining magnate and ardent advocate of colonialism, who gave his name to Rhodesia and became an influential figure in South African politics. Protesters are now demanding that his statue be removed.
Rhodes’ brooding image and the University of Cape Town (UCT) campus are framed by Devil’s Peak and the World Heritage site of Table Mountain.
They look out over the Cape Flats and its townships and informal settlements, many of which still lack basic services.
Symbols of inequality
Extreme income inequality remains a persistently stubborn problem more than two decades after the end of apartheid. Inevitably, issues that are precipitated by symbols and fought through at the university have a far wider resonance.
Nelson Mandela, who was awarded an honorary degree by the university within weeks of leaving prison in 1990, knew this.
When opening the new national museum on Robben Island, he said: “Having excluded and marginalised most of our people, is it surprising that our museums and national monuments are often seen as alien spaces?
“With democracy, we have the opportunity to ensure that our institutions reflect history in a way that respects the heritage of all our citizens.”
Mr Maxwele’s protest was in the tradition of guerrilla theatre – unexpected performances in public places designed for maximum impact.
Read more: The symbolic statue dividing a South African university
Source: BBC News
