South Africa repatriates apartheid-era remains to Namibia

South Africa has formally repatriated more than 80 sets of human remains to Namibia, including the remains of two Namibian political prisoners, Festus Nehale and Simon Niilenge, who died while incarcerated on Robben Island during the apartheid era.

The repatriation ceremony, held at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town, included ancestral remains, grave goods, and body casts. These items were collected during the colonial period, sometimes for the purpose of studying bones to support racial hierarchies. The handover is described by South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie as an act of “restorative justice, dignity and healing” intended to allow families and communities to honor their ancestors on their own soil.

Namibian Minister Sanet Steenkamp noted that while those being returned left Namibia as subjects of a colonial order, they return now as citizens of a free and sovereign republic. The remains of Nehale and Niilenge are scheduled to be reburied during Namibia’s “Heroes’ Day” ceremonies, marking 60 years since the start of the country’s struggle for independence.