By Akani Nkuna
The National Prosecuting Authority will be in four African countries over the next month-and-a-half following the launch of phase 2 of its programme to repatriate the remains of liberation heroes.
It is a key step in national efforts towards restorative justice and historical redress.
Arts, Sports and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie told reporters in Pretoria on Monday that the initiative, which was carried out in partnership with the departments of Justice and Defence and Military Veterans, would focus on reburying the remains of indigenous Khoi and San ancestors, as well as South Africans who died in exile during the anti-apartheid struggle.
“The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture together with our partners and justice and defence is proud to announce two major national initiatives – the reburial of Khoi and San ancestral human remains (and) the second phase of the exile repatriation project, something that the GNU has made a priority,” said McKenzie.
The repatriation initiative stems from a 2019 request by military veterans to President Cyril Ramaphosa and forms part of the Presidential Technical Task Team’s response. In 2021, Cabinet approved a National Policy on the Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains Heritage Objects, providing a formal framework for this ongoing work.
McKenzie said that these efforts went beyond simple projects, and that they represented acts of justice, remembrance and healing.
He said they reflected the government’s dedication to restoring dignity, advancing cultural renewal and addressing the enduring scars of apartheid.
“These initiatives are about re-humanisation; they are spiritual but most importantly they are necessary,” he added.
According to McKenzie, the reburial of Khoi and San ancestral human remains marks a significant victory in a long-standing struggle led by Khoi leaders.
For generations, their ancestors’ remains were removed from graves, taken without consent, displayed in museums, studied in laboratories or kept in foreign institutions, often without dignity or respect.
“We will have the reburial of 58 ancestral remains origination from the Northern Cape, that is being done in full consultation with the communities’ consent. This reburial is not just about returning the remains to the soil, it is about fulfilling cultural and spiritual obligations, healing the deep wounds of dispossession and most importantly, historical erasure,” McKenzie said.
The reburial process will be led by Iziko Museums and the SA Heritage Resources Association, under the guidance from Northern Cape reburial task team representing the Khoi and San communities. Additionally, the government is in talks with the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum for further returns of Khoi remains.
A joint delegation, which includes National Prosecuting Authority officials, is set to visit Angola, Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe between June and July this year to inspect cemetery records, map graves, and conduct historical and archival research.
McKenzie stated that while the exact costs and timeline for the initiatives are still unknown, the government could not place a monetary value on human life.
He emphasised that Ramaphosa had mandated the completion of this work during the term of the GNU.
“We have been instructed by the president to make sure that when our term… the term of the GNU ends, to make sure that we have brought back [liberation heroes] and brought closure to the families. So, for us it is a race against the clock,” he said.
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