President Robert Mugabe wants Victoria Falls to be renamed ‘the smoke that thunders’ to get rid of its colonial history. The president of Zimbabwe believes Victoria Falls does not reflect its liberation heritage. The waterfall, which is along the Zambezi River at the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was first discovered by Scottish explorer David Livingstone who named it after Queen Victoria.
Locals already refer to the landmark as Mosi Oa Tunya — which means ‘the smoke that thunders’.
The ruling party, Zanu PF, said the government would be instructed to get rid of all colonial names for towns and schools.
Ignatious Chombo, local government minister, said: “Institutions bearing colonial names must be changed and be given indigenous names … school syllabuses in schools must also change.”
However, a number of institutions and roads still have their colonial names.
Victoria Falls is known as the greatest curtain of falling water in the world.
Columns of spray can be seen from miles away, and at the height of the rainy season, more than five hundred million cubic meters of water per minute plummet over the edge of Victoria Falls.
-With Mail Online input
