Statue of Paul Kruger
| Paul Kruger | |
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| Artist | Anton van Wouw |
| Year | 1896 |
| Type | Bronze |
| Location | Pretoria |
The statue of Paul Kruger is a bronze sculpture of Paul Kruger, the Boer political and military leader and President of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900. It was sculpted in 1896 and has been located in Church Square, Pretoria, South Africa since 1954.
The statue was first sculpted in 1896 by Anton Van Wouw following a commission by Sammy Marks. The statue was first installed at Prince's Park and was then moved to a location outside Pretoria railway station. In 1956, the statue was moved to its current location at Church Square and was unveiled there by Daniel François Malan. The statue portrays Paul Kruger wearing a top hat and presidential sash with a cane on a plinth. Along with Paul Kruger, the sculpture has four unnamed Boer soldiers at the corners below the main plinth.
Following the end of apartheid in South Africa, there had been calls for the removal of the statue from its location due to it being viewed as an "icon of apartheid" by some African National Congress activists. In 2015, following the Rhodes Must Fall campaign in Cape Town, the statue of Paul Kruger was vandalized with green paint thrown on it. The Economic Freedom Fighters initially claimed responsibility but later retracted this when Tshwane Municipality stated its intent to open a criminal case of malicious damage against the perpetrators. Following the vandalism and a pledge by the EFF to destroy the statue, numerous people voiced support for the statue. Sunette Bridges chained herself to the statue to prevent further damage with Afrikaners in military uniforms starting to guard the statue. A rally also took place next to the statue requesting it to be left alone as part of South Africa's cultural history. This ended with Steve Hofmeyr singing the former national anthem of South Africa, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika". The statue has subsequently been ringed by 1.5m high fencing and is not directly accessible to the public.
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