AfriForum Youth welcomes relocation of MT Steyn statue – because Kovsies does not deserve it

AfriForum Youth welcomes the statue of President MT Steyn being moved from the Bloemfontein campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) to the War Museum of the Boer Republics because of this university’s policy of decolonisation and transformation. The organisation does not approve of the move, but is of the opinion that this campus does not deserve accommodating the statue.

“AfriForum Youth has been fighting for years for the preservation of Afrikaner heritage on campus, including retaining the statue of President Steyn because he played such an enormous role in this province as well as in this institution,” said Chantelle du Preez, National Co-ordinator of AfriForum Youth.

“President Steyn was an historical hero who played a huge part in Afrikaner history during the time of English domination. AfriForum Youth will continue fighting for the preservation of this hero’s legacy.”

Du Preez continued by saying that AfriForum Youth was annoyed and saddened by the fact that Afrikaner heritage was not welcome at the Kovsies campus. However, the organisation was grateful that the statue would now be moved to a place where President Steyn’s influence and role in history hopefully would be respected and appreciated and where people could visit the statue.

AfriForum Youth will monitor the relocation process to ensure the Steyn statue is not damaged and will continue fighting for the preservation of Afrikaner heritage on all campuses where AfriForum Youth has established structures.