Siphesihle Buthelezi|Published6 minutes agoKZN Cogta MEC calls for Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi statue alongside Mandela and Tambo

KZN Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi hascalled for the installation of a statue of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi in eThekwini. KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has officially called for the erection of a national monument in eThekwini to honour the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Speaking at the 2026 KZN Municipal Excellence Awards held at the Durban International Convention Centre on Thursday, the MEC argued that the current historical narrative at the Moses Mabhida Stadium precinct is “incomplete” in reference to theinstallation of a statue of Nelson Mandela at the precinct and a Oliver Tambo statue along the Durban beachfront.

installation of a statue of Nelson Mandela at the precinct and a Oliver Tambo statue along the Durban beachfront. According to MEC Buthelezi, an IFP leader, a third statue of the late Prime Minister of the Zulu Nation and IFP founder is required to provide a “truthful reflection” of the country’s liberation history. In his keynote address, MEC Buthelezi described uMtwana wakwaPhindangene as the vital link between the ANC’s mission in exile and the eventual democratic dispensation.

“Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi was the bridge between the ANC mission in exile of Mr Oliver Tambo and the new democratic dispensation of President Nelson Mandela,” the MEC stated. “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 MEC emphasised that the two existing statues in eThekwini do not fully represent the story of the collective leadership that shaped South Africa.

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He argued that placing Buthelezi alongside Mandela and Tambo would ensure a more inclusive historical narrative for the nation. “The two statues in eThekwini are therefore incomplete without the statue of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi,” he added. For more stories from The Mercury, click the linkTHE MERCURY

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