Cecil Rhodes Statue Decapitated in Cape Town, South Africa

Cecil Rhodes
ODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images

The head of British business magnate Cecil Rhodes on a monument at Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, was found destroyed on Monday, according to park rangers.

The bust, which sat at the top of the steps at the Rhodes Memorial, depicted Rhodes with his arms crossed and his head placed in his right hand. Now all that remains is half of Rhodes’ cheek in his right hand, with the rest of the bust’s head demolished.

Lauren Clayton, a spokeswoman for South African National Parks in the Western Cape, said the vandalized bust was found on Monday during patrol hours and said the incident must have occurred late Sunday night or Monday morning.

At this time, no one has come forward or claimed responsibility for the incident.

Rhodes, who founded the De Beers diamond company, has been a target for anti-colonialist activists across South Africa and Britain. In 2015, students at the University of Cape Town forced the administration to remove Rhodes’ statue from the campus.

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