BCM proposes statue of hero Rubusana

Metro will add another statue to its lineup in front of the city hall – a life-size bronze statue of anti-apartheid activist, teacher, reverend and author Dr Walter Benson Rubusana.

The statue, which forms part of the City Hall precinct where the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission was held, will join statues of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, black consciousness leader Steve Biko, and the Anglo-Boer War soldier.

BCM spokesman Sam Ngwenya said this week the metro was conducting public participation exercises where the community could comment on the proposed statue, a replica of which is currently displayed in glass box at the entrance to the city hall.

He said people had come in to view the smaller-scale replica, which is half a metre in size, and have made some suggestions which will be assessed by the municipality.

“The plan is to erect the statue opposite to where Archbishop Desmond Tutu's is,” said Ngwenya.

Other stakeholders that have already been afforded an opportunity to view and make comments about the replica include the metro's mayoral committee, church leaders, the Rubusana family as well as political parties.

The project, spearheaded by Buffalo City Metro, has been in the pipeline for months with the Rubusana family being tasked with submitting photographs of the struggle hero for references.

Born in February 1858 in Mnandi township in Somerset East, Rubusana was a teacher, a dedicated minister of the Congregational Church and renowned scholar.

He also translated a number of Congregational texts into Xhosa, and was active in the Native Education Association. As a recognised authority on the Xhosa language, he was appointed to serve on the Xhosa Bible revision committee, set up to refine the translation supervised by Tiyo Soga in the 1850s.

He personally supervised its publication in Britain when he accompanied the Thembu king, Dalindyebo, to attend the coronation of King Edward VII in 1904. During his stay in London he also published his first book, Zemk' Inkomo Magwalandini meaning defend your heritage, an anthology of traditional epic poetry and , didactic Christian essays.

While some claim the current battles for power within the ANC leadership to be a new trend, Rubusana was also caught in a contestation battle. In 1914, Rubusana experienced a personal political defeat.

When his term of office in the Cape Provincial Council expired that year he decided to contest the seat once more. However on this occasion an old colleague John Tengo Jabavu, took the field against him.

The two men had been opponents in many campaigns and had experienced numerous differences of opinion over the years.

John Tengo Jabavu was awarded the position.