The controversial statue of British imperialists Cecil Rhodes has been recommended to be removed by an independent commission.

According to document seen by The Guardian, the independent commission was set up last June to investigate the future of the statue after Oxford University’s Oriel College voted in favour of removing its statue.

The commission was asked to look into the removal of Rhodes’ statue after the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was torn down in Bristol during the Black Lives Matter Protest.

The commission recommended that the statue should be taken down and that the King Edward Street plaque should be removed.

Read also: Thousands sign petition to keep Cecil Rhodes statue on display

Oriel College’s governing body has also been urged by the commission to publish a statement reviewing its association with Rhodes.

Oxford Mail:

However, the commission noted its support for the college to fund two new fellowships in fields related to its Rhodes legacy. It also supported its plan to provide scholarships for students from Southern Africa and graduate students undertaking relevant research, and to introduce an annual lecture and outreach initiatives concerned with issues relating to Rhodes’ legacy, race and colonialism.

Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, a student group that has been campaigning for the statue’s removal, welcomed the commission’s recommendation and said: “We’re pleased that the commission came to a decision that recognises the brutality of Cecil Rhodes, and that of the colonial systems of extraction and oppression with which Oxford University’s legacy is tied.

“Crucially, the college must now follow through on the recommendation of its independent inquiry, and remove the statue once and for all.”

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