Uganda reclaims cultural heritage as 39 artefacts returned from Cambridge University
Uganda in its ongoing efforts to repatriate cultural heritage, successfully reclaimed 39 artefacts from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
These items, collected over a century ago by British colonial administrators and anthropologists, include human remains, a headdress made of human hair, and intricately decorated pots.
"While receiving these artefacts, we are reclaiming our history and cultural heritage," said Uganda's Minister for Tourism Martin Mugarra, as quoted by local media outlet The Monitor. "We are committed to reclaiming all artefacts taken from Uganda by colonial administrators between the mid-1800s and 1900s."
The process of returning these artefacts began in 2019 but faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Jackline Nyiracyiza, Commissioner for Museums and Monuments. She noted that Cambridge University still holds many Ugandan artefacts, and the recently returned items will enrich the country's cultural history and heritage.
Among the reclaimed items are five human remains of the Balongo (Sacred Twins) vessel, acquired from Buganda, a Bantu kingdom within Uganda, in 1907. This marks the second time Uganda has received its cultural heritage artefacts from Cambridge, with the first return occurring in July 1962. According to The Monitor, the return of these artefacts, which cost $100,000, will lead to their analysis, exhibition, and eventual return to their communities of origin.
This repatriation is part of a broader trend of returning historical African artefacts held by the Brits. In February, London’s Westminster Abbey agreed to repatriate an Ethiopian tablet looted in the 19th century, and in April, dozens of artefacts taken from Ghana over 150 years ago were returned on a loan agreement for three years.
Following the loan partnership between the United Kingdom and Ghana, historian and African writer Boni N'Piénikoua Teiga in an interview with GSW, condemned the possession of looted African artefacts by former colonial powers across the world.
“There is neither reason nor justification for former colonising countries to continue to keep goods and other artefacts that do not belong to them, and what is worse is that most of them were stolen. This is a normal return. And they should even be accompanied by compensation,” he said.
