The Ramaphosa statue that everyone's talking about - it's real but not new

A sculpted head of President Cyril Ramaphosa in Limpopo has been met with mixed emotions on social media.

A picture of the sculpture started doing the rounds on Sunday and many social media users were left wondering whether it was fake.

While some found it to be funny, many blasted the statue as a failure and criticised the creator. Some Twitter users even said that the "Ramaphosa statue" was unveiled by Limpopo MEC for sports, arts and culture Thandi Moraka on June 23.

Except it wasn't.

Limpopo sports, arts and culture spokesperson Plantina Diala confirmed to TimesLIVE that the statue "was real but not new".

According to The Citizen, Morake said the sculpture was crafted in 2018 by an emerging artist from Tshisaulu in Venda as a gesture to Ramaphosa. The statue is now kept at the Matsila Royal Kraal, Limpopo.

"The statue was not a government initiative but that of our emerging artist who really needs to be supported for him to realise his dream of being an artist," said Moraka.