President Robert Mugabe unveiled the statue at his official residence in Harare last Friday and Zimbabweans were not impressed.
The statue, made by a famous Zimbabwean sculptor was widely criticized on social media, with people questioning the sculptor’s motives. Some even suggested it was a reaction to being forced to make the status while many attacked the sculptor accusing him of a poor job.
However, Dominic Benhura insisted his statue of the President was not intended to mock him. The sculptor who has exhibited his work across the world, told the state-owed Herald newspaper that “honestly, no one would abuse such an opportunity.”
“That sculpture was never meant to look exactly as the President’s image. I do not do exact figures. This is the style I have mastered. My collectors can identify my pieces when they see them anywhere in the world because I chose to be different and that is my signature” Mr Benhura explains
