'Offensive' King Lobengula and Nehanda mural erased

OVER the course of this weekend, Bulawayo woke up to a mural of King Lobengula and Mbuya Nehanda in the City Centre and after gaining traction on social media, the artwork has been erased by City Council authorities this afternoon.

The mural painted at Corner Fife Street and 8th Avenue depicted King Lobengula carrying a balloon whilst embracing Mbuya Nehanda and had the inscription, "Love is greater than Shona and Ndebele, Africans unite."



The mural before being erased by City Council authorities on Monday
Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Councillor Mlandu Ncube explained why the mural was taken down citing clearance issues when one is to draw anything on council property.

"The issue is not about the message that the mural is carrying but rather the crime of not getting clearance from relevant authorities to do it. One cannot just wake up in the morning and draw something on council property. You need clearance to do so as sometimes, your work might be carrying a message that is against the values of the council.

"Failure to be cleared may lead to a fine or in the worst case scenario, a jail term so people must be aware of council laws and how the city operates, " he said.

The mural drawn on Saturday by someone only named Sphinx attracted a lot of media attention as people weighed in their thoughts.

On Facebook, Tafadzwa Eldrich Jinjika gave it a thumbs up by typing, "This is outstanding" whilst Morella Antonio alluded to the mural as "Matebelelands very own Banksy."

Efforts to get a comment from the alleged mural painter were fruitless as he declined to give a comment.