Durban - Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini is expected to give his final seal of approval to a 12m-tall statue of King Shaka at the airport before it is unveiled.
The statue has been erected at King Shaka International Airport, but for now is under wraps, with the provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture keeping the date of the unveiling secret.
The new statue comes after the late King Goodwill Zwelithini and other members of the Zulu Royal house in 2010 had objected to the previous statue of King Shaka at the airport, saying the sculpture made Shaka look like a herdboy and not the warrior king of Zulu history.
They further complained that the spear placed at his feet could suggest surrender.
It is understood that the late King Zwelithini was happy with the design elements of the new statue and gave his approval for it.
Asked about the statue yesterday, Zulu royal family spokesperson Prince Thulani Zulu said the provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture would make the announcements on the unveiling of the statue.
“The king will have a look at it first, and he has given his comments and suggestions during every step. The late king gave his approval. There were delays due to Covid-19 and the passing away of the king,” he said.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts and Culture said the date for officially unveiling the statue was yet to be determined “pending the finalisation of a few outstanding matters”.
“We can safely state that the statue is 12m tall. That includes the statue itself and the plinth on which it is standing. The cost and other allied matters will be shared by the department closer to the official unveiling.
“The department has been working with various stakeholders during the commissioning and sculpting of the King Shaka statue. These include the Zulu Royal Household, Airports Company SA and others.”
The department confirmed there had been a planned meeting and engagement between King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and new Sport, Arts and Culture MEC Amanda Bani-Mapena to finalise outstanding matters.
“We can, however, state with confidence that the Zulu royal household is satisfied with how the entire process was handled and unfolded. We look forward to the finalisation of the entire process, and the media will be taken on board on the processes through constant updates closer to the key dates.”
Ndabezinhle Sibiya, spokesperson for Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, referred all queries to the department.
In 2011, The Mercury reported that renowned KwaZulu-Natal sculptor Peter Hall had been commissioned in 2010 to construct the new statue after consultation with the public, academics, historians, King Zwelithini, and senior members of the Zulu royal family. However the department would not reveal the artist’s name yesterday.
The original statue, which was removed from the airport, was sculpted by renowned Durban artist Andries Botha.
Botha declined an invitation to be part of the team involved in conceptualising and designing the new statue.
In 2012, he told The Mercury he was unhappy that his work had been dismantled. To the best of his knowledge, the statue was being kept at a Dube TradePort storage facility.
He said he had written to Dube TradePort requesting that they remove the remaining pieces of the artwork, which included a bull, a cow and two calves.
His contention was that the remaining pieces of his work were displayed next to two traditional huts, and this made them seem like a “backdrop to a commercial outlet”.