Cheers meet removal of colonial statue in Namibia

STORY: Crowds cheered as a German colonial-era statue was removed from the Namibian capital of Windhoek on Wednesday (November 23).

The 7-foot, 9-inch bronze statue of Curt von Francois was unveiled in 1965 during the city's 75-year anniversary celebrations.

But the controversial statue has been seen as a symbol of colonial oppression in the southern African nation.

Germany has a troubled past with Namibia.

It apologized last year for its role in the massacre of Herero and Nama tribespeople over a century ago.

And officially described it as a genocide for the first time.

The figure is one of the latest to be taken down, as activists around the world mount campaigns for their removal.

In Belgium, statues of King Leopold II have been targeted by anti-racism protesters.

Tributes to the monarch, whose troops killed and maimed millions in Democratic Republic of Congo, were burned and sprayed during protests over the police killing of black American George Floyd back in 2020.