Police have arrested two men believed to belong to the Economic Freedom Fighters on suspicion of defacing the statue of Boer War general Louis Botha outside Parliament.
Police says the two men are in the cells at the Cape Town central police station.
A case of malicious damage to property has been opened.
African News Agency reports that the men are in their 20s and were wearing EFF berets at the time of their arrest.
The defacing of the statue of the general, who become the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, is the latest in a string of attacks on apartheid and colonial era memorials in recent days.
The FF Plus, office of the ANC chief whip and Democratic Alliance have all expressed their disapproval, saying the attacks are neither constructive, nor courageous.
