A 57-year-old statue of a German officer credited with founding the capital city of modern-day Namibia was removed on Wednesday.
Curt von François was a senior colonial officer in what was then called German South West Africa from 1889 to 1894. Apart from being credited with founding Windhoek, he was also allegedly responsible for the so-called massacre of Hoornkrans, which resulted in the death of at least 80 Nama people, most of whom were women and children, in 1893, as he was the commanding officer of the operation.
His statue was removed following a petition led by Namibian activist Hildegard Titus.
Activist Hildegard Titus, the leader of the petition, said von François had “wrongly been called the founder of Windhoek”, arguing that the German officer was a symbol of “colonial oppression." She also expressed her satisfaction with the result of the petition, saying that she was “very excited."
Hours before the removal of the statue, Namibian artists performed a silent ritual to signify “reclaiming the land from Curt von Francois” and to “erase” the common belief that the German colonial-era officer was the founder of the country’s capital, which now houses half a million people.
The statue's history is rooted back to 1965 when it was established in front of the now Windhoek municipal building to honor the so-called city founder.
Windhoek officials said that von François’s statue will temporarily be kept in a museum until a new site for the sculpture is agreed on.