The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities through her department of museums has officially received 39 cultural heritage artefacts from Cambridge University on 8 June 2024 at the Entebbe international airport
These invaluable objects were forcefully and cunningly taken from Uganda during the 1890s and early 1900s by British colonial administrators, anthropologists, missionaries, and soldiers. They’ve been sheltered at Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology for more than 100 years.
This is the second time Uganda is receiving its cultural heritage artefacts from Cambridge. The first return occurred in July 1962, during the independence celebrations, when the remains of Kibuuka, the god of war were repatriated and are safely kept and displayed as a centre piece at Uganda’s national museum.
These artefacts are representative of the country’s four regions in terms of cultural symbolism. Among other things, there is a head-dress made of human hair, acquired from Lango in 1937; beautifully decorated pots from Ankole, acquired in the 1920s; and a Lubaale vessel from Buganda, acquired in 1907.
As head of delegation, the state minister for tourism Martin Mugarra Bahinduka emphasised that the artefacts are a bridge to the lost culture that dates back to 100 years. These will play an integral role in revival and appreciation of the lost cultural heritage.
“This marks a significant step towards the repatriation of historical objects wrongly acquired during British colonial rule. This is the second time Uganda is receiving its cultural heritage artefacts from Cambridge. The first return occurred in July 1962, during the independence celebrations, when the Kibuuka regalia were repatriated. The Kibuuka showcase at the Uganda Museum is one of the centrepiece artefacts of the museum exhibits that visitors can’t miss” The Minister revealed.
The Commissioner in Charge of the Department of Museums Jackie Nyirachiza Besigye says the repatriation process for this particular lot begun bearing tangible fruit in 2018 through negotiations with the Cambridge university and securing financial and research support from Andrew Mellon Foundation.
“The Ministry of Tourism is in talks with the Buganda kingdom about the official hand over of the five Sacred Twins (Balongo) belonging to the Wamala Tombs), while other artefacts like those from Lango, Ankole, Bunyoro, Busoga too will be handed to the respective kingdoms and chiefdoms after the necessary rituals have been done since these artefacts must be further acclimatized with Ugandan conditions” Commissioner Nyirachiza said.
The artefacts to Uganda have returned with no other benefit alongside them. But one would argue that since these were forcefully taken a possibility of tangible economic benefit could come through. commissioner museums jackline Nyirachiza says the ministry of tourism is yet to make a case about other benefits with which the artefacts should come in form of monetary benefits, copyright of the documented literature which are tied to economic benefit. However, commissioner Nyirachiza says they are working out a negotiation plan on how both ends could benefit
Professor Derek Peterson, who has been part of the research team on this project is working out a digitisation project to ensure that these artefacts are studied further to establish their lost historical context.
The Ministry will continue to analyse the artifacts at the Uganda Museum and is organizing an exhibition in the future when all Ugandans and foreign visitors will see the historical objects returned from Europe. This is an important addition to boost tourism and the country’s cultural heritage.
Repatriation efforts go beyond the recovery of objects stolen during colonial times but rather the pursuit of such items is also about reclaiming the lost identity of people or nations, healing historical wounds, and redressing the imbalances perpetuated by centuries of colonial oppression.
This gesture is a landmark achievement in the ongoing effort to repatriate Africa’s lost heritage and marks a significant step towards the repatriation of historical objects wrongly acquired during British colonial rule.
Calls are increasing across Africa for the return to the continent of heritage items stolen during colonial times.
As a result, experts said more cultural relics are likely to find their way back home, contributing to a restoration of the very essence of African culture. A case in point, Benin officially asked France for the return of statues that were looted during the European ransacking of the Royal Palaces of Abomey in 1892, while in Ethiopia, the Association for the Return of the Magdala Ethiopian Treasures has also been fighting for the return of cultural items seized by British forces at Magdala in 1868.