Bronze Statue: Butholezwe Nyathi

Butholezwe Nyathi: "We are here to remind the world that Zimbabwe is not yet free," said Butholezwe Nyathi, one of the trio who wrapped a thick silver chain around their necks at the base of the 2.7 meter 9 foot high bronze statue in Johannesburg's Mandela Square. , according to Reuters. Nyathi said Mandela, who stepped down in 1999 after serving one term as Africa's first black president following the end of apartheid five years earlier, represented freedom for Africans. Mandela, 95, is critically ill in a Pretoria hospital. JOHANNESBURG - Three Zimbabwean exiles chained themselves to a statue of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela in South Africa on Tuesday, saying they wanted "freedom" for their homeland on the eve of elections there. A group of supporters, bemused tourists and passers-by watched the brief protest, which ended when security guards at the square in the shopping complex asked them to leave. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.