(Last Updated on December 4, 2020 by GERALD NCUBE)
HARARE – The complete pictures of the Mbuya Nehanda statue that recently went viral have raised mixed reactions before the statue has even been erected.
The statue will placed at the intersection of Samora Machel and Julius Nyerere in the capital’s Central Business District.
Mbuya Nehanda as she is popularly known in Zimbabwe was a powerful spirit medium and heroine of the first Chimurenga in 1896 – 1897.
Social media has been flooded with image comparisons of the spirit medium’s statue and those that many Zimbabweans have interacted with especially through textbooks.
Most of the commenters feel that the statue does not capture Mbuya Nehanda as they know her and that the statue is too bouncy.
“The statue of Mbuya Nehanda circulating does not depict, remotely, the resemblance of the spirit medium as we saw her in our history books,” lamented one Twitter user.
However, others have expressed affection towards the statue, with another Zimbabwean commenting that they “personally love the Mbuya Nehanda statue.”
The statue was made by sculptor David Mutasa and is complete awaiting the completion of the base structure where it will be placed.