The controversial statue in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital, was removed after pressure from activists. The 2.4-meter-long bronze statue of the German colonial officer Curt von François in Windhoek was removed from its pedestal with the help of a crane. The moments when the statue was dismantled were celebrated with applause. The statue of Curt von François was erected in 1965 as he is seen as the founder of the city of Windhoek.
The petition to remove the statue was initiated by an activist group called ‘A Curt Farewell’. Hildegard Titus, the activist who led the petition, said in a statement that von François was “mistakenly referred to as the founder of Windhoek” and that he was a symbol of “colonial oppression”. The decision to remove the statue from the Windhoek City Council garden was made last month.
Windhoek spokesman Harold Akwenye said the statue will be kept in a museum for the time being, but will be “replanted” once a new location is agreed upon.
Von François, a senior officer in the German colony known as South West Africa between 1889 and 1894 on the African continent, was the operation commander in the Hoornkrans massacre, which killed at least 80 people, mostly women and children, in the 1890s to suppress the revolt of the Namibian people.