Fourteen years after a statue of AmaZulu King Shaka was removed from Durban’s King Shaka International airport, a new R4.5 million likeness will be unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa this week.
The new, 11m high work has been shielded from public view for two years. The initial R3.2 million ground-level installation drew criticism in 2010, that it did not adequately depict the stature of the founder of the AmaZulu nation.
Former Premier, Zweli Mkhize described Andries Botha’s King Shaka installation at the Durban International Airport in 2010, as a work that depicts the founding monarch of the Zulu national as a philosopher, economist and administrator. It was made up of a three metre high statue of King Shaka at ground-level, among Nguni cattle; his royal shield and spear lying against a seat. However, in his work, Botha departed from the only known likeness of Shaka, sketched in 1824 by James King.
Zulu cultural expert, Professor Sihawu Ngubane explains why some thought it depicted King Shaka as if he was a herd boy.
“I think that was one of the critics that it was too small and, on the ground, and that is why it was erected on a high platform so that you can be able to see it from far.”
The decision to remove Botha’s installation has not been his first brush with controversy. That same year, he was ordered by the eThekwini municipality to stop work on an installation of three elephants next to the N3 leading into the CBD. This after an ANC councillor felt the work was a representation of the IFP logo.
Five years and a number of court cases later, the final work was unveiled. Botha’s internationally displayed elephant artwork has been described as a conversation about people’s interaction with nature and the looming extinction of species.
Regarding the King Shaka statue and after a consultation process, artist Peter Hall was commissioned in 2011 to produce the statue along the lines of the 1824 sketch.
Botha’s statue of King Shaka was hurriedly removed at night, leaving only the cattle in place. KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sports, Arts and Culture spokesperson, Ntando Mnyandu says the new statue is five metres high, and is placed on a six metre high plinth.
Andries Botha could not be reached for comment.
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