Some Tanzanians online are expressing concern that a new statue in honour of their founding president Julius Nyerere does not look like him. “I know the gesture counts most but this statue’s face has very little or no resemblance to Mwalimu Nyerere (old or young),” Maria Sarungi says on X (formerly Twitter). Nyerere was the leader of what is now Tanzania from independence in 1961 until 1985. He was a committed pan-Africanist and hosted independence fighters opposed to white minority rule in southern Africa. Last year, a statue honouring Zambia’s first President, Kenneth Kaunda, had to be removed after weeks of ridicule, with people similarly saying that it did not look like him.

Source: Ethiopian News February 19, 2024 09:41 UTC