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Durban — More than three years after it was unveiled at the King Shaka Airport to much fanfare and then later removed, the discussion over a replacement of King Shaka statue is still ongoing.This week Durban artist Andries Botha said he was still waiting for the Nguni cows to be removed from the airport.
In 2010 the Shaka statue was removed after the Zulu royal household raised concerns that it was not a true depiction of the Zulu warrior king.
A task team appointed by the Premier’s Office in 2011 commissioned KZN artist Peter Hall to construct a new R3,5 million statue. It is unclear when the new statue will be installed at the airport.
But while all this happens, Botha is adament he wants the cows removed as the remaining pieces were seen as harming his intellectual property rights.
“The parties involved don’t owe me a cent. But they at least owe me the dignity of my work, which in its dismembered form, does not depict my artistic impression of the original idea. This is an insult to my intellectual property right and the whole work has been de-contextualised,” said Botha.
Asked if he planned to take legal action against the parties involved, Botha said he would like to resolve the matter as amicably as possible.
“This is hectic because it has been politicised. Being an Afrikaner and taking the Zulu monarch to court, who is that gonna benefit? There’s much better ways to resolve the matter,” he said.
Outgoing premier Zweli Mkhize’s spokesperson Ndabe Sibiya would not comment on Botha’s concern about his intellectual property rights. — Sapa
Online Reporter