A statue of Mahatma Gandhi here has been defaced by a group of people who threw buckets of white paint on it.
The incident occurred on Sunday when the group came in a car at about noon and threw buckets of white paint on the statue and surrounding plaques detailing Gandhi’s history in South Africa, security guard Ntandzo Khwepe said. They had placards that read: ‘Racist Gandhi must fall’. The statue in the centre of the city is believed to be the only one in the world showing the Mahatma as a young lawyer in his court robes.
The statue is on a public transport hub square which was renamed Gandhi Square because the offices in which he practiced law during his stay in the city are on the periphery of the square. “They said we should not stop them because Gandhi was a racist man,” Khwepe said, adding that the group was wearing African National Congress (ANC) regalia.
