South Africa returns Namibian remains in move toward colonial healing

South Africa has returned the ancestral remains of 84 Namibians, along with the remains of two political prisoners who died in detention during the apartheid era, in a solemn ceremony held in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The coffins, draped in the Namibian flag, were formally handed over to a Namibian delegation during the ceremony.

According to the Chairperson of the Council of Iziko Museums of South Africa, Marvin Mdhluli, the remains had entered the museum system as part of research that sought to portray indigenous communities as inferior.

The handover also included personal and cultural items, including beads, ostrich eggs, jewelry and body casts linked to Namibian communities.

The remains of political prisoners Festus Nehale and Simon Petrus Nileng were also returned.

Nehale died in 1971, while Nileng died in 1974.

Both had been imprisoned on Robben Island, the detention facility where political prisoners were held during South Africa's apartheid era.

Their remains had remained in Cape Town, where they were buried.

South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, said the repatriation was an important step towards restoring the dignity and identity of the deceased and their communities.

These sentiments were echoed by Namibia's Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, who added that their return marks a significant moment for a country that is now free and sovereign, noting that some of the ancestors had been removed from their communities and treated as objects rather than people in colonial scientific and museum collections.

The returned liberation heroes will be reburied at Namibia's Heroes' Acre on August 24.