Call for statue of Mangosuthu Buthelezi to reflect ‘true liberation history’

KwaZulu-NatalMEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs Thulasizwe Buthelezi has called for the city of eThekwini and the province to honour the late IFP founder Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi with a statue. The call comes a week afterPresident Cyril Ramaphosaunveiled 9m-high bronze statues of former ANC presidents Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo at OR Tambo Parade in the North Beach precinct and Moses Mabhida Stadium last week. The statues, which cost R11m each, raised objections from civic bodies and political parties, who argued they were a monument to misplaced priorities in a city where taps run dry and refuse piles up.

On Friday, the Cogta MEC said a complete and truthful reflection of South Africa’s liberation history must recognise Buthelezi’s “contribution alongside other national icons”. “Prince Mangosuthu Butheleziwas the bridge between the ANC mission in exile of Oliver Tambo and the new democratic dispensation of President Nelson Mandela. Prince Buthelezi kept the struggle alive in South Africa.

When the apartheid regime had silenced both Tambo and Mandela, Buthelezi was the voice of the oppressed. “The two statues in eThekwini are therefore incomplete without the statue of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi,” he said. Buthelezi made the call during his keynote address at the 2026 KwaZulu-Natal municipal excellence awards, held at the Durban International Convention Centre on Thursday. He added that honouring Prince Buthelezi alongside other liberation icons would “ensure a more inclusive historical narrative that acknowledges the collective leadership that shaped the nation”.