White solidarity groups in South Africa are protesting over the removal of a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the University of Cape Town . The monument of the controversial historical figure is set to removed today , after South Africa ’ s oldest university voted to ditch it following a month of protests against the statue . Members of the university council ordered that the bronze sculpture was removed , after hearing its presence made black students feel uncomfortable and was seen a symbol of historical white oppression . The defaced statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes is tied by straps to a crane before its removal at the University of Cape Town . It follows weeks of protests at the university over the symbolism of the statue . The monument has been vandalised in recent weeks . It has not yet been decided where it will be moved . The government has backed the move , and Sandile Memela , the spokesman for the arts and culture ministry , said they are working to see if the country can take an ‘ official position ’ on statues and other colonial symbols . ‘ It marks a significant… shift where the country deals with its ugly past in a positive and constructive way ’ , he said to press agency AFP , adding the government did not encourage the violent removal of statues . But the decision to move the monument of Rhodes – a 19th century imperialist who critics say helped pave the way for apartheid – has sparked protests in itself . On Thursday morning , the youth wing of white Afrikaner solidarity group AfriForum handed a memorandum to parliament in Cape Town to ‘ demand protection ’ for their heritage . The same statue was covered in plastic bags after protests by students and staff at the university in March . The university 's council heard that black students felt uncomfortable because of the bronze monument . Politician and businessman Cecil Rhodes is called a 'racist ' by his opponents . Born in 1853 , he made his fortune in diamond mines , and entered into politics as an outspoken supporter of colonialism . He later founded Rhodesia - modern-day Zimbabwe - which was named after him . He believed England was the 'master race ' , and wanted to draw a 'red line ' railway from Cairo to Cape Town for the British Empire - spanning the entire continent of Africa . While his supporters say he brought political and physical infrastructure to South Africa , others say his actions laid the groundwork for apartheid by restricting the rights of black Africans to work . Source : BBC , Wikipedia . While they are not recognised as supporters of Rhodes , statues of their heroes have been attacked during the university protests . A monument of former president Paul Kruger was splattered with paint , and Afrikaner men , some of them in quasi-military outfits , demonstrated next to it on Wednesday . ‘ The Afrikaner is -- from a historical perspective -- increasingly being portrayed as criminals and land thieves , ’ solidary group Afriforum said in a statement . ‘ If the heritage of the Afrikaner is not important to Government , our youth members will preserve our own heritage. ’ It has not been decided where the statue of Rhodes will end up , although it will likely be held in a museum . But as tension grow on campuses about the statues of historical South African figures , Jonathan Jansen – the first black vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State – denied that there was a race war coming . Cecil Rhodes , pictured on the right , in 1896 in Rhodesia with an unknown companion and a black manservant . People look the defaced statue of former South African president Paul Kruger in Church Square , Pretoria . He wrote in South African newspaper The Times on Thursday : `` The reason is simple : the overwhelming majority of South Africans , black and white , believe in a middle path somewhere between reconciliation and social justice . ’
University of Cape Town voted to remove the statue from the campus . The university said it was a "historic decision" and that it would be replaced with an alternative statue.