WATCH | Woman arrested as she tries to rush Ramaphosa and King Misuzulu at statue unveiling

A woman believed to be a guest at the unveiling of a statue of King Shaka at the airport in Durban named after him was arrested as she rushed the stage where President Cyril Ramaphosa and King Misuzulu were sitting. 

Ramaphosa and the king were the chief guests at the unveiling of the 12m statue of King Shaka, which replaces a previous artwork that apparently made the amaZulu monarch look like a “herdboy”.

Witnesses said the woman disembarked from a shuttle ferrying guests from the airport to a sports field for the ceremony. From there she walked to the front of the stage and climbed the stairs, where she tried to lunge at Ramaphosa and the Zulu monarch before two officers got to her. 

Some witnesses said the woman was demanding to speak to the monarch.

Police officers battled to contain the barefoot woman dressed in a long cream dress who was wearing sunglasses. She managed to hit two of them as she struggled out of their grip before someone from the VIP protection unit joined them. She was then frogmarched out of the area. 

It has not yet been established who the woman's target was.

Police are yet to comment on the incident. 

TimesLIVE