Part of the bust of Cecil Rhodes, which is housed at the top of a flight of stairs at Rhodes Memorial, was chopped off.
Speaking to EWN, Lauren Clayton, spokesperson for South African National Parks (SANParks) said rangers who patrolled Table Mountain found the disfigured bust while patrolling on Monday, July 13. Most of the statue’s head and face are now missing.
Clayton believes the incident may have occurred on Sunday evening [July 12] or early on Monday morning, and no one has come forward to claim responsibility for it yet.
This is not the first time the statue has been defaced. In September 2015, it’s nose was cut off, and the words “racist, thief, murderer” were also written on it. The bust was restored three years later in October 2018. In 2001, red paint was also thrown at the statue.
Rhodes was an imperialist, politician, and the businessman who founded the De Beers diamond firm. The Rhodes Memorial was completed in 1912, and consists of granite steps bordered by bronze lions. There is also a rider on a bronze horse at the base of the steps which leads to the top where the bust sits.
“It has been vandalised before, multiple times. At this stage we are still unclear about the reasoning behind the vandalism,” Clayton said.
Pictures: Twitter
