Kruger Statue "Must Go"
NELSPRUIT- For decades, the imposing granite statue of Boer hero Paul Kruger has dominated the main entrance to the Kruger National Park.
Now members of the Mahlangana clan in Manyeleti near Bushbuckridge want the statue removed from Kruger Gate and replaced by one of their own heroes: 19th century king Ma'nyeleti Mnisi.
"This would be a fitting tribute to a great hero who fought for his people," said Oris Mnisi, historian and spokesperson of the Mnisi chieftainship. "The other nations have honoured their respective kings and now we want to honour King Ma'nyeleti."
Mnisi said the king ruled from the 1820s to the late 1850s and held sway over a swathe of land from the former Lourenco Marques (modern-day Maputo) to Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg) and Badplaas, "including the entire area making up the Kruger Park today".
Over the decades King Ma'nyeleti led the Mahlangana as well as Shangaan, Swazi and Mapulana clans in the area, said Mnisi. He also fought Portuguese colonialists in the Lebombo Mountains.
"King Ma'nyeleti was a good friend of King Sekhukhune, and was very brave," he said. "That is proven by the fact that he killed the elephant that killed him. They both died at the same spot, and he was carrying only a spear. The elephant crushed him after he had stabbed it, and they died together."
Mnisi said representatives of the clan had approached the Mpumalanga department of local government and housing in a bid to replace Paul Kruger's statue with one of Ma'nyeleti.
Departmental spokesperson Simphiwe Kunene said he was not aware of the request, but promised to investigate.
Kruger National Park spokesperson Raymond Travers also expressed surprise at the proposal. "We haven't had an approach like that yet- I think it's very interesting. A couple of years ago we wanted to remove the statue to rehabilitate the area around it but we couldn't because we didn't comply with the procedures of the South African Heritage Resources Agency.
"I would imagine that any proposal like this would first need to go through a full scoping report and would have to comply with the agency's procedures.
King Ma'nyeleti already has one reserve in the named after him- the 22,000 hectare Manyeleti Game Reserve to the west of the Kruger National Park.
The Mnisi clan lodged a successful land claim in the area several years ago and now helps the Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency manage the reserve. All lodges in the Manyeleti reserve, which is home to the big five- lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo- are privately owned and lease land on concession.
The Shangaan name Ma'nyeleti means "shooting star".
According to Mnisi, the king got the name because there was a shooting star the night he was born at a kraal less than a kilometre from where the Kruger National Park and the Manyeleti Game Reserves converge.
Now members of the Mahlangana clan in Manyeleti near Bushbuckridge want the statue removed from Kruger Gate and replaced by one of their own heroes: 19th century king Ma'nyeleti Mnisi.
"This would be a fitting tribute to a great hero who fought for his people," said Oris Mnisi, historian and spokesperson of the Mnisi chieftainship. "The other nations have honoured their respective kings and now we want to honour King Ma'nyeleti."
Mnisi said the king ruled from the 1820s to the late 1850s and held sway over a swathe of land from the former Lourenco Marques (modern-day Maputo) to Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg) and Badplaas, "including the entire area making up the Kruger Park today".
Over the decades King Ma'nyeleti led the Mahlangana as well as Shangaan, Swazi and Mapulana clans in the area, said Mnisi. He also fought Portuguese colonialists in the Lebombo Mountains.
"King Ma'nyeleti was a good friend of King Sekhukhune, and was very brave," he said. "That is proven by the fact that he killed the elephant that killed him. They both died at the same spot, and he was carrying only a spear. The elephant crushed him after he had stabbed it, and they died together."
Mnisi said representatives of the clan had approached the Mpumalanga department of local government and housing in a bid to replace Paul Kruger's statue with one of Ma'nyeleti.
Departmental spokesperson Simphiwe Kunene said he was not aware of the request, but promised to investigate.
Kruger National Park spokesperson Raymond Travers also expressed surprise at the proposal. "We haven't had an approach like that yet- I think it's very interesting. A couple of years ago we wanted to remove the statue to rehabilitate the area around it but we couldn't because we didn't comply with the procedures of the South African Heritage Resources Agency.
"I would imagine that any proposal like this would first need to go through a full scoping report and would have to comply with the agency's procedures.
King Ma'nyeleti already has one reserve in the named after him- the 22,000 hectare Manyeleti Game Reserve to the west of the Kruger National Park.
The Mnisi clan lodged a successful land claim in the area several years ago and now helps the Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency manage the reserve. All lodges in the Manyeleti reserve, which is home to the big five- lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo- are privately owned and lease land on concession.
The Shangaan name Ma'nyeleti means "shooting star".
According to Mnisi, the king got the name because there was a shooting star the night he was born at a kraal less than a kilometre from where the Kruger National Park and the Manyeleti Game Reserves converge.
Labels: land claims, land reform, manyeleti, restitution
posted by Kruger2Canyons.com at
Sunday, December 17, 2006
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