Wits students call for apartheid legacy statues to be removed from the city Wits students call for apartheid legacy statues to be removed from the city By Sameer Naik Share Johannesburg - As Wits students continue to protest for free education, they are also calling for apartheid legacy statues to be removed from the city. Students took matters into their own hands as they attempted to remove a gold mining statue outside the City of Joburgâs offices in Braamfontein. Several students attempted to tear down The Minersâ Monument , with demonstrators telling the media that the act of destruction was a symbolic gesture to âdecolonise educationâ.