THE NATURAL History Museum say they are working with government officials in Zimbabwe to return human remains and skulls taken during the colonial era.

President Emerson Mnangagwa wants to swap remains of Cecil Rhodes, who is buried in Zimbabwe, for the skulls of resistance fighters

Zimbabwe has been pressing for the return of the skulls ever since former president Robert Mugabe demanded the United Kingdom return the “war trophies” held by the museum in London.

Zimbabwe has for a number of years believed that the remains of some of their most important and revered leaders from an uprising against British rule in the 1890s – were taken to Britain as “war trophies” and as symbols of victory.

Cecil Rhodes shipped the heads of Zimbabwean resistance fighters, who were cornered in a cave by armed colonists to England as a present for Queen Victoria.

The museum told The Voice they are working with a delegation from the southern African country to repatriate “the remains of 11 individuals.”

In a statement released to The Voice, The Natural History Museum said: “We are committed to working with the Zimbabwean government to progress this request and discussions are ongoing and recently welcomed a delegation from Zimbabwe to continue discussions about the repatriation of the remains of eleven individuals.

“After extensive research, our researchers have found no evidence to suggest that these remains are of identifiable named individuals or associated with particular historical episodes.

“Any request for the return of ancestral remains is subject to careful consideration by the Trustees of the Museum and involves consultation with countries of origin to establish a thorough understanding of connections, traditional perspectives and ethical issues to inform decisions.”

The uprising known as the First Chimurenga was fought between 1896 and 1897, in the region that was later known as Southern Rhodesia – which is now Zimbabwe.

In 2021, Zimbabwean president Emerson Mnangagwa began pushing for the return of colonial war trophies and said he would exchange them for the remains of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, who is buried in Zimbabwe.  

Six years prior, at a Heroes Day celebration in Harare in 2015, then-president Mugabe said he believed Britain had the remains of leaders Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi.

 “The first chimurenga leaders, whose heads were decapitated by the colonial occupying force, were then dispatched to England, to signify British victory over, and subjugation of, the local population,” Mugabe said in 2015.

“Surely, keeping decapitated heads as war trophies, in this day and age, in a national history museum, must rank among the highest forms of racist moral decadence, sadism and human insensitivity.”

Nehanda became a national hero following her execution in the capital city. 

In 2021, a statue of her was unveiled near a main road in the centre in Harare.

The discussion about the return the human remains to Zimbabwe first began in 2014, according to The Guardian.

In a statement sent to the BBC, Cambridge University’s Duckworth Laboratory also confirmed they have “a small number of human remains from Zimbabwe” and said none of the remains have been identified as belonging to the First Chimurenga warriors.

The presence of African human remains, treasures and artefacts in UK institutions, has come under have increased criticism in recent years. 

Earlier this year, The Voice revealed that the British Museum plans to “lend” their collection of looted Benin Bronzes but has failed to say if items will be permanently.

The museum disclosed to it currently has 928 objects and approximately 300 historic photographs in their possession that are associated with the Benin Kingdom, but said its their mission is make the artefacts available to everyone from the UK. 

Last year, the University of Aberdeen announced they were to return a Benin Bronze after a review found it was taken from its country of origin in an “extremely immoral” manner. 

In 2007, Ethiopia demanded the return of Maqdala-era artefacts from the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The objects were taken from Ethiopia, when British troops attempted to overthrow the Ethiopian Empire during the Battle of Maqdala.

The items were put up for sale at a public auction but were pulled at the last minute, after intense criticisms from the Ethiopian Embassy in the UK.

In September last year, the London-based Scheherazade Foundation returned many objects that were looted from Ethiopia in 1868 and the move has been welcomed by Ethiopia’s National Heritage Restitution Committee.

Germany has also announced it will return Benin Bronzes from its museums back to Nigeria.