Beyond Repatriation: Strategies for Restoring Africa's Cultural Heritage and Achieving Historical Justice
Beyond Repatriation: Strategies for Restoring Africa's Cultural Heritage and Achieving Historical Justice
“The main challenge is, first of all, for the colonial power to admit they did something wrong. The guilt, that is very difficult for them to admit that they committed crimes. Now, if they don't admit they committed crimes, then they will say they have nothing to compensate for they did not do anything wrong. So, so far the campaign has managed to get some of the colonial powers to admit that there was something wrong. Not all of them, some of them or some people in them. So, to get them to compensate they must agree they did something wrong, you know that now to return.”
#PanAfricanFrequency spoke with Professor Macharia Munene, Professor of History and International Relations, at the United States International University, Nairobi to examine the implications of Cambridge University’s decision to return 116 Benin bronzes to Nigeria, for the broader movement to repatriate African cultural treasures.
Stay tuned as we explore the progress made, and broader questions about the lingering structures of colonialism.
If restitution is measured not in press releases but in objects returned and crimes acknowledged, what would meaningful restoration truly look like for Africa? Share your take on this with us in the comments.
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