Chilembwe’s statue stands tall in London

Malawi’s John Chilembwe who ordered cutting off of a head of a Briton in protest over thangata system, free labour to British tea farmers, has his statue standing tall in central London’s historic Trafalgar Square.

The statue was unveiled on Wednesday.

This is a place mostly reserved for statues of British war heroes and kings and queens of the British monarchy.

Chilembwe, a US trained Baptist preacher, fought against British colonial rule.

The sculpture, named Antelope, is the square’s newest Fourth Plinth – which is regarded as one of the world’s most famous public art commissions.

Since 2003, the Fourth Plinth has been showcasing different pieces of artwork every two years.

While it was originally intended to display a statue of King William IV, it remained empty due to insufficient funds and now exhibits temporary art, selected through public consultation and the commissioning group.

Chilembwe’s five-metre statue will mark the first of an African in Trafalgar Square.

Cast in bronze, Antelope restages a famous photograph taken in 1914 of Chilembwe standing next to British missionary John Chorley, outside his church in Mbombwe village in southern Malawi.