'Exhume and Send Rhodes Back to UK'
February 21, 12 by Edahn Golan
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Cecil Rhodes' gravesite at Matobo National Park
Photo: Radozw
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(IDEX Online News) – More than a century after his death, Zimbabwean nationalists are demanding that the remains of De Beers founding Chairman Cecil Rhodes be exhumed and shipped out of the country.
Rhodes is not only remembered for his role in forming the diamond giant, but also as passionate supporter of British colonial imperialism in Africa. He was the founder of the state of Rhodesia, which was named after him.
Gaining its independence from Britain in 1965, Rhodesia has been renamed Zimbabwe.
After his death from heart failure in 1902, Rhodes was buried at a hilltop located approximately 35 kilometers south of Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe. Today his gravesite is part of Matobo National Park and a popular tourist stop.
War veterans and supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party have travelled to the gravesite last week, expressing anger at the continued presence of Rhodes in Zimbabwean soil and demanded the body be removed, according to a Daily Mail report.
Many in Zimbabwe criticized the protest. President Robert Mugabe is reportedly against the exhumation. Government spokespersons said Rhodes is part of the country's history.
