Ghana Gandhi statue removed after student protest

A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been removed from Ghana's most prestigious university after complaints that he was racist against black Africans.

India's former president Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the statue to the global peace icon at the University of Ghana in Accra two years ago as a symbol of ties between the two nations.

But lecturers soon began a petition calling for its removal, citing passages written by Gandhi claiming that Indians were "infinitely superior" to black Africans.

The online protest was one of a number on university campuses in Africa and beyond about the enduring symbols of the continent's colonial past.

The Gandhi statue on the university's Legon campus in Accra appeared to have been removed overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, students and lecturers told AFP.

The head of language, literature and drama at the Institute of African Studies, Obadele Kambon, said the removal was an issue of "self-respect".

The university authorities refused to comment while an official at Ghana's foreign affairs ministry said only: "It's an internal decision by the university."