JOHANNESBURG — A statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been defaced by a group of people who threw buckets of white paint on it amid racist taunts.
The incident occurred yesterday when the group came in a car at about noon and threw buckets of white paint on the statue and surrounding plaques detailing Gandhi’s history in South Africa, security guard Ntandzo Khwepe said.
They were bearing placards reading: “Racist Gandhi must fall.”
The statue in the center of the city is believed to be the only one in the world showing Gandhi as a young lawyer in his court robes.
The statue is on a public transport hub square which was renamed Gandhi Square because the offices in which he practiced law during his stay in the city is on the periphery of the square.
“They said we should not stop them because Gandhi was a racist man,” Khwepe said, adding that the group was wearing African National Congress (ANC) regalia.
Khwepe said one man was nabbed as the group tried to flee, but he remained nonchalant about it, claiming that his political bosses would soon get him free.
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