President Robert Mugabe unveiled the statue at his official residence in Harare last Friday and Zimbabweans were not impressed.
The statue, made by a famous Zimbabwean sculptor was widely criticized on social media, with people questioning the sculptor's motives. Some even suggested it was a reaction to being forced to make the status while many attacked the sculptor accusing him of a poor job.
However, Dominic Benhura insisted his statue of the President was not intended to mock him. The sculptor who has exhibited his work across the world, told the state-owed Herald newspaper that "honestly, no one would abuse such an opportunity."
"That sculpture was never meant to look exactly as the President's image. I do not do exact figures. This is the style I have mastered. My collectors can identify my pieces when they see them anywhere in the world because I chose to be different and that is my signature" Mr Benhura explains
Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo defended the sculpture while Mugabe praised it. He was quoted as saying that he was so grateful that the statue stimulated "a kind of wonder, love, a kind of appreciation and satisfaction"
