Students on Cape Town campus throw excrement on statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes

JOHANNESBURG – One of Africa's leading universities is in tumult over a statue.

Last week, protesters at the University of Cape Town in South Africa tossed excrement on a campus statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, arguing the monument is a tribute to the white domination of the past. Since then, student demonstrators have demanded removal of the statue and organized a "Rhodes must fall" campaign on social media.

The university says it will consider the student demands and that it is willing to engage in debate.

Memories of racial conflict are fresh in South Africa, which shed white racist rule in 1994 after all-race elections.

Rhodes, who died in 1902, was the namesake of Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe after independence in 1980.