Why KZN needs the King Shaka statue

Let me fill you in on some background to this.

 

KZN Economic Development and Tourism MEC, Michael Mabuyakhulu, has announced plans to erect a colossal statue of King Shaka at the Tugela River Mouth on the north coast. The announcement was made at the Tourism Indaba in Durban at the weekend. According to Mabuyakhulu, the statue will incorporate visitor facilities and culturally related experiences. Announcements on the commissioning of the statue are expected to be made soon.

 

A similar announcement was made by former KZN Premier S’bu Ndebele some five years ago but work on the statue has not commenced yet. In 2008, Ndebele was reported as saying the statue will cost R200-million and is expected to be 13 metres higher than New York City’s Statue of Liberty, which is 93 metres tall. 

 

Ndebele was also reported to have said that the landmark statue will be erected through private funding. 

 

Mabuyakhulu has however stated that some of the costs will be covered by the state, although he didn’t say exactly how much the project will cost.  

 

Now there have been some concerns expressed about the proposed statue. The East Coast Radio Breakfast Stack conducted a phone-in opinion poll on the issue. All the callers voted against the proposal to erect the statue. The arguments against the statue were that: 

 

1. It is ridiculous. 

2. It is a waste of money. 

3. There were many other Zulu Kings. Why King Shaka?

 

I was actually quite surprised at the negativity around this issue. I am of the view that these comments are wrong and completely misguided. I just thought I ought to clarify some things. 

 

OK, let me just state from the outset that I’m a proud Zulu person and an admirer of King Shaka.

 

Shaka was not just any Zulu king; he founded this mighty Empire. Prior to his rule the Zulus consisted of many clans that were related but disorganised. Shaka united the various Nguni clans to form one large nation. At the age of 34 Shaka had reached his goal of uniting many tribes and taught them to live in harmony under one common language – isiZulu. The Zulus are today the largest ethnic group in South Africa. Zulu people also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. 

 

Nowhere in the history of South Africa or the history of the sub-continent has one man done more to unite people than King Shaka. More than any other single individual, he gave shape to the Zulu Kingdom. Shaka was a teacher, leader, visionary, prophet, change agent, strategist, negotiator, fighter, military genius and the most ambitious and prominent king in Africa whose reign still greatly influences modern day South African culture. 

 

While the Zulu did not read (in Shaka’s time), Shaka built for himself without a single borrowing - as recorded in Dr Alfred T. Bryant’s dictionary – a vocabulary of some19 000 words, which was extremely impressive for an unwritten language and falling short by 1 000 words of the vocabulary used by English writer William Shakespeare. Shaka was also a pioneer in gender equality and women’s empowerment policies. I say this because he was the first army General to have a female army.  

 

Shaka was one of the greatest army Generals the world has ever produced. He is more famous than Napoleon Bonaparte. He was greater than Alexander the Great – for within a space of 12 years he had conquered and united an area twice the size of Europe. 

The history of South Africa as a country can never be complete without mention of Shaka Zulu and the Zulu people. He is a hero comparable to none and arguably the most famous southern African to have ever lived. The late monarch deserves the statue and all the glory.

 

History however tells us that Shaka Zulu was a cruel, ruthless, deranged and bloodthirsty tyrant. I don’t believe that myth. I choose to believe that the image perpetuated of him in the European world was shaped by certain individuals who deliberately blackened Shaka’s reputation for their own ends. Shaka was our saviour. He is a symbol of African excellence, unity and pride. Africans the world over revere Shaka Zulu as an archetype from the good old days of pre-colonial Africa. We were greatly inspired by his good deeds and what he stood for and represented.

 

I am in favour of the statue. To me personally, it would be both a memorial to a great man and a reminder of the work that needs to be continued - of which he was a pioneer. Furthermore, I believe that the statue will enhance and promote tourism. 

 

 - Phumlani Dube

@PhumlaniDube

 

Phumlani Dube produces the Ndumiso @9 show on East Coast Radio.