South Africa has handed back ancestral human remains and a sacred national artefact to Zimbabwe, marking a significant step in the global push to return items taken during the colonial era.
The handover ceremony took place Tuesday at a museum in Cape Town, where eight coffins draped in the Zimbabwean flag stood in solemn tribute. The remains, removed more than a century ago, were taken as so-called “scientific specimens” during colonial rule.
Among them was believed to be a tribal chief whose skull and jaw were collected in 1910. Another is thought to be a man killed over accusations of witchcraft. Officials stressed that the remains were taken from their graves without consent.
South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, said the restitution reflects a broader moral obligation.
Gayton McKenzie, South Africa Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture: “We must return what doesn’t belong to us, because we cannot ask Europe, Asia, the West, all the different countries in the world to return our remains of our ancestors, to return our artifacts whilst keeping stolen artifacts, by demanding these ones that have been stolen from us to be returned. We are an ethical state. The government of national unity wants to do things in the right way.”
Zimbabwean officials described the return as deeply symbolic, tied to identity and historical justice.
Reverend Paul Bayethe Damasane, Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, highlighted the cultural significance of the moment.
Reverend Paul Bayethe Damasane, Zimbabwe Deputy Chief Secretary: “As I called it, it is a remembering of what we were dismembered before, and to us it’s very significant. It’s an identity marker. It also registers a strong camaraderie that exists between our own president and the president of the Republic of South Africa, Ramaphosa.”
Alongside the remains, South Africa also returned a centuries-old soapstone carving of the Zimbabwe bird — a powerful national symbol taken from the ruins of Great Zimbabwe in the late 19th century.
The artefact was removed by a British explorer and later sold to colonial figure Cecil John Rhodes. Its return comes nearly 140 years after it was first taken.
The Zimbabwe bird is a central emblem of the nation, featured on its flag and currency. The original carvings date back to the 11th to 13th centuries, when Great Zimbabwe was the heart of a powerful pre-colonial civilisation.
Officials say that once repatriated, the remains will be laid to rest with dignity in Zimbabwe — bringing closure to a painful chapter that has lasted more than a century.
