Life-size bronze statue of Johnny Clegg unveiled in Cape Town

CAPE TOWN - A life-size bronze statue of the late Johnny Clegg has been unveiled in Cape Town.

Situated in Century City, Long March to Freedom is a one-of-a-kind monumental procession of life-size bronze statues, telling a 350-year story of South Africa's liberation history.

On Thursday, Clegg's sculpture joined those of a hundred other resistance leaders and freedom fighters, including Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Albert Luthuli and Oliver Tambo.

Clegg was a pioneering South African musician, anthropologist, and anti-apartheid activist, who defied racial segregation by forming multi-racial bands, which faced immense opposition and censorship from the apartheid regime.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015 and died in July 2019 at the age of 66.

Now, a life-size bronze statue of the musician has taken its rightful place in the story of South Africa's journey to democracy.

Jesse Clegg, who's also a musician, witnessed the unveiling and spoke lovingly of his late father.

"I'm feeling his energy with us here today, smiling down on us. There's been so many beautiful words said about who he was as an artist, as an activist. To me, he was just an incredible father, he was someone I looked up to and who created a special plae in his life for his family."

The sculptors depict Johnny Clegg in all his glory - mid-performance, stick in hand, dressed in traditional Zulu attire and smiling widely, with a guitar set beside him.