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access to the statue because of the student card identification and explanation that he was researching for academic purposes. The critics of the statue say that Kruger is a relic and artefact from the oppressive, racist colonial and apartheid era and should be removed for the city truly to belong to the original inhabitants. On the other hand, defenders argue that Kruger is a pivotal part of the Afrikaner cultural heritage and should be respected and honoured as such. For many people, the statue represents values associated with Afrikanerdom, while for others and represents the inherent and institutionalised racism of the South African society before 1994. The anti-Kruger activists argue that the statue is a painful reminder of centuries of oppression and there is no place in modern South Africa to celebrate a figure central to that history. Historians have also written extensively about his involvement in government corruption and manipulation of the Transvaal1 elections (Du Toit, 2020). Kruger was also the Afrikaans peoples’ spiritual leader during their bitter war of resistance against British rule, the consequences of which have become a point of reference in Afrikaans peoples’ collective consciousness. In the same war, black South Africans lost any claim to their country. Kruger inevitably became the embodiment and representation of black dispossession, oppression, and racism. As a result, when the Afrikaans peoples’ view the artefact, they may venerate their hero and icon. In contrast, black South Africans are often reminded of the torturous past and their loss of national identity.

3.3.5 Proposals in terms of statue or plinth position This section presents two proposals that may change the narrative in terms of the historical meaning of the site by relocating the statue or removing the statue.

Consideration A In light of the numerous sentiments around and perspectives on Paul Kruger (the person and the statue), it is evident that statues tell not so much what the people on the plinths did, as that which the people who put them there want society to believe

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Articles inside

LIST OF REFERENCES

legacies in the SADC

4.4 Recommendations

Figure 3.46: One walkway with trees on both sides

4.2.3 Review of policies of architectural decolonisation

Figure 3.44: Main walkway with trees and grass

Figure 3.45: Elevation with trees and grass

Figure 3.43: Square with meandering pathways

Figure 3.42: Square with a water garden

Figure 3.41: Bridge crossing

Figure 3.37: Africa Unity Square layout plan

Figure 3.38: Walkways north of the square removed

Figure 3.34: Broken tiles

Figure 3.28: Closing the opening between the Hall of Heroes and Hall of the Altar

Figure 3.33: Rainbow floor option

Figure 3.32: Rainbow patterned floor

Figure 3.29: Upper dome opening closed

Figure 3.27: Beam splitter for light on both Cenotaphs

Figure 3.26: Adding another Cenotaph next to the existing

Figure 3.25: Cenotaph inscribed in 11 languages

Figure 3.21: City development around the Voortrekker Monument

Figure 3.23: Sunlight shining on the cenotaph

Figure 3.15: Empty plinth at Church Square

Figure 3.16: Voortrekker Monument

3.3.5 Proposals in terms of statue or plinth position

3.3.7 Conclusion

Figure 3.12: Another statue next to Paul Kruger

Figure 3.10: Plinth and statue removed from the central point

Figure 1.0: Video QR Code

2.5 SADC

3.2.3 Conclusion

Figure 3.3: Church Square and surroundings

Figure 3.9: Paul Kruger statue and plinth

3.2.2 Height and scale

2.3 Conflicting memories

2.4 spirit of heritage